What’s ‘the Buzz’ about my program?
Here is just a teeny smidgen of the emails and letters I have gotten following recent programs. In over a dozen-plus years of doing school visits, and family events, I have yet to have a single disappointed school. I’m proud of that record.
Here, for example, was an unsolicited (by me) comment from a lead teacher in Westchester County NY to another school, who wanted to know how I worked. Of course, I can quickly put you in touch with her, and others.
“Hi Abby,
AWESOME, ENGAGING, ENERGETIC, MOTIVATING, FUNNY AND INSPIRING are just a few of the adjectives that describe our “author in residence” program that Ted Scheu brought to our school. We had him for one week and each class met with him from 30-minutes to one hour twice during that week. His ability to enable even the most reluctant writer to take a risk and enjoy the magic of poetry was worth his time.
He is a master teacher who loves working with children. Each teacher as well as many students all commented on their experience. He geared his presentations and workshops to the needs of each grade level. We had input from all our teachers before he came and he integrated whatever they chose from his menu of lessons.
I can’t say enough about Ted’s ability to get children excited about poetry. I even wrote my own parting poem to share with him the day he left. Teachers had his books for about a month and shared them with their students so that they were prepared for his visit. Many children ordered his books and we bought copies for our library.
Hope your students have the same opportunity as we did. Feel free to call me if you have any other questions.”
And other comments stream in…
Ted, every teacher has stopped by to rave about your presentations and workshops. They loved your energy, your management skills…and of course, the poetry. Your program was perfectly formatted for the students, both at the Lower School Assembly and during each grade level workshop. Your enthusiasm, sense of humor, and poetic insights have ignited creative thinking and poetry galore! What a PERFECT kick-off to Poetry Month you gifted us. Thank you!
– Lower School Librarian, Rye Country Day School, Rye, New York
Dear Ted, Yesterday was incredible! The children were at my door this morning reciting poems, parents calling/e-mailing /stopping me in the halls to say what inspiration you were for their child. Teachers as well were singing your praises. I was so pleased and cannot thank you enough.
– Librarian, FCDS, Winston-Salem, NC
Yesterday, Nate came home talking about Ted Scheu! Nate, who never tells me anything about school, was talking about the things that Mr. Scheu had said. He loved that he could make up words in poetry! Or that he could write with no capitals. He was excited about the freedom that poetry allows (my words, not his!) He told me about writing things down and then reading them aloud to see if they sounded good. Then, on his own, Nate grabbed a pad of paper and started writing down poems and reading them back to himself to hear how the words sounded aloud! I found several poems around the house as I was picking up after he had gone to bed. He was excited about writing, and he was excited about poetry. It was then, that Emily sat down and wrote her poem. What a glorious afternoon for us! So I thank you and Mr. Scheu for showing my children that poetry is fun and exciting and exposing them to genres outside of their norms. Thanks for all you do!
– Mom, FCDS, Winston-Salem, NC
“We were Wowed! I’ve been getting poems all day and I’ve never heard such positive comments from teachers regarding authors. Thanks again!”
– Teacher, Northwood, NH
“Thank you so much for coming to our school. We simply loved you and will recommend you to all our friends. The children did not want to leave your assembly. I have had so many calls from parents, that their children were reading your poems all night long. I will definitely let you of any feedback that I hear. I am positive that all the comments will be cheers and praise for you!”
– PTA Parent, White Plains, NY
“Thank you Ted! Each of your visits was truly a pleasure! You made a very wonderful and lasting impression on our two schools, and provided an educational experience we will all remember fondly. It was great to meet you and I hope you make it back to township soon!”
– Principal, Haddon Twp, NJ
“We wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed your visit and how much we appreciated having you in our school. You had a huge impact on the students that you worked with. They were so inspired by your programs, as evidenced by the multiple poems that are hanging in the classrooms and hallways as we speak. They are poems full of imagery, descriptiveness and overall creativity. It is quite impressive!”
“It was such a pleasure working with you. I hope that you enjoyed your visit to us and I look forward to working with you again next year.”
– PTO Organizer, Yorktown Heights, NY
“Ted,
I can’t thank you enough for the amazing, thoughtful and highly energetic workshops, lunches and assembly you shared with Osborn this week. I am still receiving accolades from students, parents and teachers, many of whom told me specifically that you are the best we’ve had at Osborn. Many teachers have already incorporated your workshop into their existing lesson plans and others are going to use them to kick off the poetry section.
Because I was fortunate enough to sit in on almost every one of your workshops, I noticed that you went out of your way to refer to every teacher and many children by name. And with the aid of a sip of water and a cough drop, you made your 4th workshop in the tight Wednesday morning “lineup” as thoughtful as your first. Now that’s a wow!
It was my pleasure to make your stay with us go as smoothly as possible and I certainly hope to do it again soon.”
– PTO Organizer, Rye, NY
“Dear Ted, Thank you for coming to our school and sharing poetry with us. We loved your expression and your energy. You don’t lie when you say you’re a child in a human’s body!”
– Your friend, Rosie (Student, Ripton, VT)
“I just had to send you a quick email thanking you again for all you did for the students of Washington School!! I can’t stop thinking about or talking to people about the day (I think my husband has for sure tuned me out by now!) You are truly and inspiration to me and I am sure many of the students you saw today. Please keep on doing what you are doing, for the world needs more people like you!!”
– Librarian/Media Specialist, Washington School, Nutley NJ
“Hi Ted, You beat me to the punch! Andrew came home and without my asking, said you were “the best”! He and all of the boys and teachers loved having you! Your enthusiasm is contagious and you make poetry fun and inspiring. I’m only sorry I couldn’t be there to meet you! Have a wonderful new year and I hope to see you in the future!”
– Organizer, Private School, Greenwich, CT)
“I want to thank you once again for giving us a wonderful day of assemblies, workshops and poetry. I know the students and teachers got a lot out of your visit. I hope you enjoyed visiting our school. You are a dynamic speaker and inspiring teacher and poet and I think we will see the effects of your visit throughout the year if not beyond. I had heard such great things about your author visits, but you exceeded our expectations! Thank you and be well.”
– PTO Organizer, Montclair, NJ
“Thank you so very much for coming to the school and entertaining the kids and staff! All the feedback I have received has been incredibly positive. You did a fabulous job reaching out to ALL the students. Kids who normally do not share their work have excitedly been coming up and showing me the poems they did with you. Staff has been telling me how much they enjoyed the assembly and your workshops. You truly have the gift of engaging children and creating excitement about poetry. Again, thank you for such a WONDERFUL experience!”
– Librarian, Meriden, NH
“This is a very delayed thank-you for yet another fantastic poetry experience for our 2nd graders at BRS. The teachers just loved all you did and the students had fun, too. Even my son, who usually dreads any kind of writing, talked excitedly about your poetry and enjoyed his ‘poetic license.’ He noted the progression of your facial expressions in the photos on the license and commented that’s what happens to him, too, when he reads your humorous poems. It was truly a pleasure and delight to help in bringing your talents and gracious enthusiasm to our 2nd graders. I very much enjoyed working with you and am excited that our current 1st graders have such a wonderful experience ahead of them.”
– PTO Parent, Pleasantville, NY
“I have received many compliments about how smooth your day here was and how engaged the children were in the assembly and the workshops. Thank you for making me look good – you really have your workshops and assembly so well organized and so appealing to the specific age groups. As I mentioned, I will pass along your name to the other cultural arts chairmen in our consortium.”
– First Grade Teacher, NJ
“My son and his 2nd grade friends came home today RAVING about your visit – thank you so much!” – PTO Mom, Lewisboro, NY
“Thanks again for such a great visit to our school last week. It was educational, entertaining and enlightening. Your visit was enjoyed by teachers and students alike. You brought poetry to life for many of us. People–young and old–are often intimidated by reading/writing poetry. Your presentations helped us all appreciate that poetry doesn’t have to rhyme and is so much “funner” when it is read out loud and shared! Thanks, too, for all the books, poems, and poetic licenses. My 5-year daughter has had the death grip on her license since you gave it to her. She won’t let it out of her sight.”
– PTO Organizer, Andover MA
“The activities last night were great, but by far my favorite part was seeing our students reading their poetry with such confidence in front of their families and community. Because I know the stories behind the faces, it was that much more remarkable. Thank you for making that happen.”
– Librarian, Grafton, VT
“I asked Ethan (my 5th grader) what he thought of your presentation, and he said, ‘It was great, and Ted Scheu is so funny. Now I know how important verbs are.’ He also likes the sports poems from your new book, and he plans to use the poems as inspiration to punch up his own writing. Anna, (1st grade), said, ‘I liked all of it. He’s so funny!’
“I especially enjoyed watching how you were able to transition your poetry from the pre-K level all the way to 6th grade. Your presentations worked for every grade level. Thank you for reading “One Good Thing” to the 4th graders during their workshop; I wish that the 5th and 6th graders could have heard you read it as well. The audible gasp from the 4th graders when they realized that the speaker was the coach’s son was priceless, and shows that they knew exactly what he was talking about. That heartbreaking, poignant poem is my favorite.”
– Organizer, Williamstown, MA
“Thank YOU, Ted, for the lovely day you provided our students and teachers (as well as us PTO parents!). I know my girls read your poems this evening with renewed vigor, and it was very sweet to watch the children on the playground after school excitedly showing their newfound treasures (in the form of signed Ted Scheu books) to their parents. We are proud of our unique school and community and glad to have had the opportunity to share it with you!”
– PTO Parents, Edgewater, NJ
“Just wanted to let you know that I had an awful time trying to get out of the school Friday afternoon and it was all your fault! Everyone was stopping me to tell me how wonderful they thought the workshops and assembly were!! One of the teachers, who I remember was not very thrilled at the idea of poetry being the focus of our author visit, asked if it might be possible to have you come back next year. Now that is definitely a compliment. I even had parents coming up to me today to ask me all about it because their children had come home so excited about you! I must thank you for bringing your wonderful talent here to Morrisonville (not to mention for making me look good). It was truly a joy having you here. We would all recommend you very highly to any school who might be thinking about having you for a visiting author.”
– Organizer, Morrisonville, NY
“Two of my daughters attended the Young Writer’s Workshop last weekend. They had such a great time and were so inspired by your presentation and classes. They edited their poems from the day with you and wanted me to send them along so here they are (two attachments). Thanks so much for all you’ve done!!!!! What a special day for them – we really appreciate your time!” – Organizer, Young Writer’s Conference, Ridgefield, CT
“I have to tell you that I have done Creative Arts for the school for 7 years and I have never worked with anyone as delightful as you. I do hope that the fourth-grade teachers have you back next year. I will do my best to share my enthusiasm with my counterparts across town. Our entire family has read all of your poetry books we brought home (cover-to-cover) and my son has dog-eared them. Also, I have had several emails from parents telling me how you have such an impact on their children. One boy, apparently, woke up at 11 looking for a notepad to jot down his poem ideas.”
– PTO organizer, Wellesley MA
“Dear Ted, We just wanted to thank you again for the great week we shared with you at our school. The whole school is still buzzing with poetry and excitement. Thank you for all your hard work.”
– PTA Organizers, Scarsdale, NY
