Has traditional one-size-fits-all, linear writing instruction failed your middle or high school child?

It's time for a new, creative approach for middle and high school writing.

 

When middle and high school kids try over and over and nothing seems to work, they stop trusting themselves. Worse, they bring all their past failures with them when they try something new, even if they’re not consciously aware of it. 

 

The result? Decreased confidence and a reluctance to try again.

 

What's the solution?

Replace those past failures with successes—and keep adding more successes to the list. 

 

It's also critical to replace the idea of writing as drudgery (or even torture) with the notion that writing is a helpful tool, and can even be fun. Creative writing has helped even my most resistant students form a healthier relationship with writing so they could succeed in high school and college.  

 

Writing is taught as a linear process, but most humans don’t actually function in a linear way, following a predetermined path. 

 

Writing is how we learn to think, and learn what we think. We get stuck and go back and forth. That’s natural, and forcing a linear model onto the writing process can cause a lot of unnecessary stress.

When you work with me, you don’t just get structured time with a mentor. 

 

I help your child learn a better, more natural way to engage with curiosity and writing to create a process that works for them. 

 

You also get a unique perspective that includes a coaching background with the proven tools that allow me to teach your child to outwit the monsters like procrastination and self-doubt that currently stop them—tools that will serve them not only in school, but for life. 

 

We’re also all inherently creative. Adding creativity back into the process is a game-changer for a lot of kids who are resistant or stuck. 

 

As a result, your child gains the confidence to tackle the blank page, and many other academic challenges, knowing those monsters are no match for them.

“When the arts and aesthetics are integrated into education, work, and life, we strengthen our capacity to learn.” 

—Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us 

 

In the age of AI, it’s easy for kids to give in to the temptation to let the Homework Machine do the work for them. As a result, it's even more important for them to develop written confidence so they have this crucial life skill to help them think for themselves, evaluate information critically, and land solid jobs in the future. 

 

According to the World Economic Forum, the top skills of 2030 include:

‣ Judgment and decision making 

‣ Fluency of ideas 

‣ Active learning 

‣ Learning strategies 

‣ Originality 

‣ System evaluation 

‣ Deductive reasoning 

‣ Complex problem solving 

‣ Systems analysis 

‣ Monitoring

 

Writing teaches all of these skills.

Tony's Story

Tony was a senior in high school with engineering aspirations when his older sister called me. She was worried about his writing skills, including his college essay. As she put it, "Writing is Tony's kryptonite." 

 

Tony was, indeed, a reluctant writer. "How much writing would an engineer need to do?" he figured. 

 

After several weeks of slow, strained, progress, I asked him if he had ever done any creative writing.  

 

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

 

"Something fun," I said. "A story." He shook his head. "Want to give it a try? I'm curious to see what happens." He agreed.

I gave him a prompt, and he started writing a story about himself and his friends. I could tell he was enjoying it, as I suspected he might. 

 

A few weeks later, I asked, "Tony, does your other writing feel different to you since you started writing your story?" 

 

He gave me a shy smile. "Yeah. It's easier." 

 

Tony went off to college a few months later and quickly decided not to become an engineer. He ended up switching to political science—a major that required a lot of writing—instead. 

 

As a result of our work together, I know that Tony was far better prepared for, and a lot less afraid of, the work ahead than he was before his sister called me. 

Who Am I?

I'm Nancy Norbeck—a former teacher with eight years of experience working with middle and high school students, and college freshmen, and I love to help 6th graders and above become better writers. 

 

I love to help students improve their writing, word choices, vocabulary, grammar, style, logic, and flow. This calling has come from a lifelong enthusiasm for the written word—I started writing fiction while still in elementary school—and there's nothing better than watching students gain new confidence in their writing skills. 

 

In addition, I am a Master Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach, which gives me an advanced understanding of common blocks like perfectionism, procrastination, fear of failure, and self-sabotage, and the tools to teach students how to outsmart them.

 

 

Credentials: 

‣ BA in English, Bucknell University 

‣ MFA in Writing, Goddard College 

‣ Eight years middle/high school and college teaching experience 

‣ Professional copy editor and proofreader 

‣ Master certified creativity coach 

 

References available at the bottom of this page.

I would love to meet you and your child. To get started, call +1 609 791 9424 or use the form below to tell me about you and your child, and I'll be in touch!

References

 

“Nancy has devoted most of her time to teaching many of our international students who needed ESL support. In addition, Nancy has been the faculty advisor for our Student Literary Magazine – which is a highly regarded student publication. I have found Nancy’s work with our international students to be of the highest quality. She devotes significant time to her daily lessons and is able to tailor lessons to meet the needs of each individual learner in the classroom. Writing is one of Nancy’s strengths and this skill is a valuable one when it comes to teaching the writing process with students whose first language is not English. I believe her talents in writing would be equally successful in a more traditional high school class involving creative writing. I’m sorry to see her leave Pennington.” 

 

— Bill Hawkey, Headmaster, The Pennington School 

 

 

“Nancy’s follow through with students and families is superior, as are her professional integrity and work ethic. Nancy approaches her responsibilities with efficiency, care and effectiveness. As long as I have known Nancy, she has been genuine, friendly, thoughtful and fair towards everyone she knows, both students and adults alike. Nancy reaches and connects with each of her students. It is easy to see how much she cares about her children, as her genuine kindness is a rare quality to find. Most specifically, the role of an ESL teacher requires genuine understanding of the cultural differences and unique needs of students from various backgrounds. In this capacity, Nancy is an expert and always advocates for her students. 

 

"I have always found her to be incredibly insightful and articulate. She is an excellent communicator and remarkably thorough in her approach to any task or project. Trained in English and ESL, Nancy would be an asset to teach both disciplines. Nancy’s [...] accomplishments in the area of English include writing a novel and completing her MFA, both desirable attributes for a creative writing teacher at any school! As aforementioned Nancy’s educational background in the field of English clearly qualify her to teach the subject; however, her expertise in the field of writing must also be highlighted. Highly qualified, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and energetic, Nancy educes success and personal growth from her students.” 

 

— Tara Campasano Malia, Former Director, International Student Program, The Pennington School 

 

 

“I respected Nancy’s professionalism and dedication to teaching as a collegue and her sharp intellect and sense of humor as a friend while we worked together at The Pennington School. She is organized, focused, and quite creative and highly skilled at building such talents with the students she worked with. Her work editing/supervising the creative arts journal at Pennington was equally exceptional.” 

 

— Rick Berger, Former Teacher, The Pennington School 

 

 

“As one school year followed another, I grew to admire and respect Nancy’s professional talents more and more. I found her masterful at gaining the respect and trust of her international students. Her classes were always happy places of learning: gently controlled environs where students worked intently on their individual written creations, where they felt safe and free to express themselves, and where Nancy herself moved quietly from student to student, offering encouragement and suggestions for their writing.” 

 

— Elizabeth Winkler, Retired Teacher, The Pennington School 

 

 

“Ms. Norbeck is a very lovely, hardworking, and creative teacher. I took her ESL writing class my junior year; as a result, I learned a lot from her and these writing skills not only helped me writing papers for English AP my senior year, but also will help in my life. As a teacher, Ms. Norbeck teaches by encouragement; she always encouraged us to be not afraid of writing and always told us that we did a good job.” 

 

— Former Student, The Pennington School 

 

 

“I took a course called Humanities with Ms. Norbeck 4 years ago. At that time, I just came to U.S as a freshman in high school. During the class, we shared cultural differences, practiced speaking, reading and writing in English and most importantly, we created a strong bond with each other. Ms. Norbeck was always sensitive to my needs and helped me in improving my English skills through my high school education. I’m glad to have her as a teacher and now a friend.” 

 

— Former Student, The Pennington School 

 

 

“I have always enjoyed studying and working with Nancy. She is so quickly able to “cut to the chase,” to figure out WHAT the problem is, then deal with it directly. Her humor keeps everyone in balance, regardless of how many things are happening at the same time. I HIGHLY recommend her!” 

 

— Classmate, Goddard College 

 

 

“Nancy is a dedicated writer and teacher, and very talented at both. She works hard and is a delightful person to know.” 

 

— Rachel Pollack, World Fantasy Award-winning author, and Faculty Advisor, Goddard College

Copyright 2025 - Nancy Norbeck