About the Author My name is Sonja Deneir. I have been a successful high school English teacher in New York public schools for ten years. All throughout my career I have had many teachers request my help in achieving the same great connection or rapport that I shared with many of my students in and out of the classroom. Teachers wanted to spend time in my classroom to watch me interact and conduct my teaching lessons. In preparing Focal Point Journal Topics, I hope to reach and help all teachers in preparation of creating a cooperative environment in which students are engaged and always ready to discuss their writings. “The task of the writer is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel- it is before all, to make you think.” - Joseph Conrad