The sight of a child's face when he sees his work in print is worth all the effort. I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. As a teacher, I possess tremendous power. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. Students attend more to what we do than to what we teachers say.
Students learn by example.
As an English teacher in a junior high, I assign many written projects and demand a polished product. My students get published and win competitions. I am constantly entreating my students to submit items for publication and to enter writing contests, and I go through the same processes as they do. Several times a year it is mandatory that my students submit their written products to a publishing company, and I levy similar requirements upon myself. When my students write, I write.