The Essay Workshop

So far I've had two meetings of the Mart High School Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition Workshop.  Both went surprisingly well.

In all of my work with young people, I often utilize Drama-Based Instruction, a collaborative arts-integration method that we often use in the Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities program.  During our first Essay Workshop session, I asked students to enter an improvised scene in which my character, a representative from UT’s Museum Studies program, holds a meeting in Mart to announce the creation of a museum themed:

“The African American In Mart:  Past and Present” 

In our fictional scene, I asked students to play imaginary but honestly portrayed community members. Once the scene began, my character asked the students, in role, to brainstorm the museum’s intended audience:  Who needed to hear these stories? 

Answers varied.  One character thought that African Americans in Mart needed to hear the stories, to know where they came from; another said the museum should be aimed toward African Americans everywhere.  A third character suggested that children of all races living in Mart could benefit from knowing the history of African Americans in Mart.  A quiet freshman raised his hand: “This museum should also be for the elderly African Americans in our community, so they can see how the changes they fought for are really happening.”

The conversation went on.  In discussing African American history in Mart, students, in role as other community members, spoke of slave plantations, segregation, the Civil Rights movement, and sports stars.  They talked about the importance of acknowledging both the negative and the positive of the African American experience in Mart; they also discussed the importance not just of documenting the past and present, but of envisioning the future.

        
This future, I have discovered, lies in these students, both in their ability to listen and their willingness to speak up.  Mart’s young people are, in many ways, the most forward-minded members of the community. They have strong opinions, and they care about their community.  If these kids are the future of Mart, I think the town is headed in a very exciting direction.  

the pitch

On Monday, Melanie, Anna and I ventured out to Mart to meet with students at Mart High School.  Our first stop was the school library, where we met with students in the Leadership Class.  After the three of us introduced ourselves, we went around the room to give each student a chance to tell us his or her name and year in high school.  As we went around, the makeup of the tables where students sat looked showed a greater degree of integration than I had anticipated:  there were definitely groups of all white girls, or all white boys (white football players was my guess), and there were a few kids who sat alone at tables; however, several tables included both black and white students.  Not perfect, but definitely a change from some of the attitudes I had felt from adults in the community.

Interestingly, none of the students knew who Barbara Jordan was; I watched their teachers cringe.  A few claimed to enjoy learning about history; when asked why, one student explained that history "helps us learn from our mistakes."  A very quick storytelling activity, which required students to tell personal stories based on artifacts they happened to have on their persons, yielded spotty results; however, I think I managed to hook a few students in.  I left with quite a few names and email addresses on my sign-up sheet.  After my pitch, Melanie and Anna talked to the kids about the Arts Co-op, which garnered quite a bit of interest from several of the more creative kids.

The day went on in this fashion, as the three of us gave mini-pitches during each class period.  During lunch, we set up shop in the cafeteria.  I got one sign-up during lunch from a student who had heard about the Essay Workshop when other members of our class had visited previously.  Otherwise, however, we didn't get too much attention at lunch; most of the kids seemed too busy or too nervous to approach us.

As Melanie, Anna, and I headed out, feeling a little unsure whether we had made an impression at all, a girl stopped us on our way to the parking lot:

"You're leaving?  When will you be coming back?"

And then I remembered:  with kids, you never can tell.

I'm headed back to Mart High School next Monday.  I'll only have half an hour--from 8:45-9:15 am--but if I can get kids to show up for at least that long, maybe I can get a commitment from them to come a little earlier next week (a promise of donuts might help my case).  I'm crossing my fingers.  If even just three students who showed interest actually follow through, the early-morning trip will be well worth it.