This article discusses the work of Lucy McCormick Calkins, an educator and the visionary founding director of Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Begun in 1981, the think tank and teacher training institute has since trained hundreds of thousands of educators across the country. Calkins is one of the original architects of the "workshop" approach to teaching writing to children, which holds that writing is a process with distinct phases, and that all children, not just those with innate talent, can learn to write well. She is author of some 20 books, including the best-selling "The Art of Teaching Writing" (250,000 sold). Calkins is shaping the education of millions of children, yet no independent research backs the efficacy of her programs. Aside from grumblings from the New York City teachers required to work under her system, there has been remarkably little open debate about the basic premises behind Calkins's approach, or even feedback on how the programs are faring in the classroom. Here, the author discusses the concerns many teachers have with the methods Calkins advocates.