Our fall semester has been an unquestioned success thanks to our newest group of Butler mentors enrolled in the Writing In The Schools course. Not only have they helped us spark the creativity of Shortridge students during our Exclusive Ink sessions, but they have proved their dedication to making a difference by spending additional time before the end of the school day tutoring a select group of students who are still hoping to pass their ECAs (End of Course Assessments).

They’ve also provided us with some feedback worth sharing.

Katie O’Neill: Yesterday was a great day for writing with the students I had. B– really clicked with the exercise, participated in lively discussion, and wrote two poems. My other student was always involved with the exercise, although I noticed, with some eavesdropping, he was having some girl issues. His phone kept going off. He would be distracted, but he would always come back to the work. He was obviously stressed, and I think the exercise gave him a little escape from the drama in between texts. If writing does anything, it gives you personal therapy and a chance to vent. For a lot of the students at Shortridge, this might be the only place where they can do this, which is a great service in itself.

Whitney Willhite: I had a really great day today! I worked with C– and T–, and they were both really focused on their writing. C– is a really amazing writer, and he actually ended up helping me write a poem. I think it made him feel good that I asked for his opinion. After that I worked with J– on his Chemistry homework, and it was really rewarding to see everything come together in his head. He was really happy that he finally figured it out. Overall, I was really pleased. I feel like I am already forming personal relationships with the students after just a few times and that is definitely the most rewarding part for me.

The past few weeks, I have been working with two girls in particular. I worked with them for the first time on a debate they were doing in class, and I could tell that we clicked immediately. I felt like I could really relate to the girls, and they seemed to have a good time working on their debate as well as just generally talking about anything else with me. It has been nice to work with these two girls week-to-week to get to know them better.

Something I found out quickly after working with them was that they get very easily distracted and don’t like sitting for long periods of time while doing homework. Seeing that they were starting to disengage after a while, I asked them if they wanted to walk around the school and talk about their assignment. I brought their worksheet with me and asked them the questions out loud, and we discussed the answers as we walked. They really liked doing this and didn’t even realize that we were answering all the questions as we walked – it seemed so informal and not “school-like.” After taking a lap around the building, we sat down, and they filled out the worksheet with the answers they had given me as we walked. I was impressed by how much they had to say about the topic, and I was amazed how simply changing up the environment can result in a dramatic increase in student interest and productivity. Ever since then, we have gone on “homework walks” every Tuesday and Thursday around the building, and they still seem to really enjoy it!

Contributed by Lauren Cavers

Here’s a quick round-up of what Butler students enrolled in the Writing In The Schools course have been saying about Shortridge this semester. We’re really pleased with all their hard work, which has yielded some stellar returns…

Bridgit Goss: I worked with a student on a persuasive essay last week. Although the assignment was challenging and the student felt somewhat overwhelmed, when the student left our session, she thanked me by saying, “No one has ever taken time to help me like that,” which made me feel really good.

Melissa Rangel: I had an absolutely fantastic day at Shortridge on Tuesday. This applies to most days – when 4 o’clock rolls around, I never want to leave. I stay as long as I possibly can because the kids are great. They’re hilarious, and they make me laugh so hard. And they’re so smart and passionate! I’m always spilling over with compliments for them.

Whitney Hass: When I worked with A–, she did a wonderful job writing a short story in her writing notebook, and I was so glad she was willing and excited to present her piece during her first session with the group. I loved the amount of emotion she was able to pack into her work.

Ginnye Cubel: I think my biggest success yesterday was getting J– to read his poem out loud. The student was really intimidated by reading, so I tried to point out places where the sound worked really well and stressed to him how powerful those instances were when spoken aloud. Even though it was just in front of a few of the other tutors and me, it was still exciting!