Freedom

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A quick feel-good anecdote. When we went to Mr. Adams’ AVID class this week, I got a chance to work one-on-one with a student who regularly comes to our Thursday writing group. We spent the class talking about all the good things she does and her plans for the future (a fringe benefit of the résumé assignment from our end, no doubt). It was a productive session that I really enjoyed. But what’s most interesting and uplifting happened at the end of our time when the bell rang and Mr. Adams passed out flyers to all of his student for an upcoming Shortridge Bingo Night event. At first, she talked about how she wanted to go, until she noticed the fine print stating that the activity is designed to promote literacy. “It’s supposed to be educational – I don’t want to go,” she said. To which I replied, “Does that mean you feel the same way about our group?” Without hesitation, she responded, “No, your group’s not like that at all. Your group is freedom.”

The Money Board

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As part of the Literary Journal/Creative Writing group, we’ve created a Money Board for the students to help share and immortalize their “money” lines, the moments of inspiration that, quite frankly, we would have been proud to come up with ourselves. There is no shortage of intellectual and insightful teenagers at Shortridge. We’re thrilled to be able to help shape their always-expanding minds.

Here are some sample lines of poetry from the Money Board, based on an exercise we led the group through last week where each student wrote about the various objects our tutors brought in, ranging from a picture of Batman to a cat statue:

“I stretch out my feelings / I come alive”

“I am Buddha / A silhouette of a duck”

“When I slide on your finger, a puppet I could have been”

“I’m 20/20 clear like a pair of glasses / so call me a cat with four eyes”

“The sun and the moon are jealous / I broke their hearts”

“My whiskers still move / While the sound of my roar still grooves”

“I’m in a darker hole than an old smoker’s pipe”

Planet Of The Playwrights

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On Thursday, I met with a Shortridge sophomore who was working on a line-by-line interpretation of Mark Antony’s speech in Julius Caesar. He tried to hem and haw his way out of it, claiming he “didn’t get Shakespeare.” But we dove into it anyway. I took every approach. Nothing could get him engaged.

In spite of the student’s reservations, I was getting pumped – who can’t get excited about Antony undermining the conspirators? I was getting into it and busted out my Charlton Heston voice (evoking Heston in Planet of the Apes, moreso than his turn in the Hollywood version of Julius Caesar). And the student thought I was being a dork, but he could dig it. He finally understood all the underlying sarcasm and got excited about it, too. At the end of the session, he even admitted that he could understand Shakespeare.

At which point, I said to him “Charlton Heston can bring anything to life.” And he looked at me and said “Who’s Charleton Heston?”

Contributed by Brian “I Feel Old” Gross

Hot Off The Presses On A Cold Day

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Want a concise article about what the Writing in the Schools Butler/Shortridge project is all about? Look no further than today’s Indianapolis Star. Thanks to Alyssa and Danese for working with us to get the word out.

They’re getting on the write track
by Alyssa Karas, Star correspondent

New this school year, volunteers from Butler University are offering an after-school creative writing program to tutor students and just maybe coax another Kurt Vonnegut out of Shortridge High School.

“We really think that the freedom of that after-school activity is going to be different from the classroom,” said Shortridge English teacher Christine Muller. “A little louder maybe, and that’s going to be fun for the kids.”

Undergraduates and master of fine arts students visit Shortridge twice a week for three or four hours of mentoring with the students. Their goal is to revive the school’s literary journal.

“We’re hoping to not only sort of tutor Shortridge students who may need help with their writing, but also set up a creative writing group,” said Chris Speckman, the Butler MFA student overseeing the project.

In addition to sharpening students’ expository writing skills, project leaders want to give students an opportunity to pursue written and spoken-word poetry, as well as fiction writing.

Muller said writing is difficult for many students. English teachers at Shortridge have about 160 students, and an after-school program will help to ease the burden. Not to mention it could help students ace academic placement tests and prepare for college.

“We want kids writing,” she said. “Both kids who are good at it and kids who want to be good at it.”

At least 20 Butler students signed up to mentor at Shortridge. Many of the Butler participants are enrolled in a course called Writing in the Schools, and the program at Shortridge will serve as a real-life example.

“We don’t want to come in there and act like we’re the boss,” Speckman said. “We’re there to help the Shortridge teachers and administrators get what they need from the students.”

With extra help, Muller said teachers look forward to seeing students participate in activities outside the classroom.

“Shortridge has had a long tradition of literary magazines, and we hope to reinstitute it,” she said.

In addition to Vonnegut, Shortridge counts among its alums Dan Wakefield, author of “Going All The Way,” and Madelyn Pugh, head writer on the “I Love Lucy” show.

If the fall semester goes well, organizers from Butler and Shortridge hope to keep the program running long term.

“It’s a way to show them that writing is all over the place, and it’s something they know how to do,” Speckman said. “It’s just a matter of coaxing them and getting them to have some fun.”

 

I Believe In Yesterday…

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Yesterday was probably our most impressive and important day at Shortridge yet. With about 15 volunteers, we helped a seventh-grade science class of upwards of 30 students with an expository assignment, tutored a dozen 10th and 11th graders before and after-school in an effort to keep them on track with their English curriculum, and hosted a lit mag/creative writing club callout meeting that drew 18 emerging writers.

Although we’re at Shortridge to make a positive impact on the school and not to celebrate our own accomplishments, I think everyone who has contributed to our cause deserves a pat on the back for days like yesterday. It was the embodiment of what we dreamed up when this program was nothing more than a paragraph-long course description.

Let’s keep the excitement going and see just how far we can take this. Much gratitude all around.

Sign Of The Times

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Although it’s been anything but easy, we’ve had a highly productive first few weeks at Shortridge because of our talented and dedicated volunteers. Our Shortridge literary magazine/creative writing group meets for the first time this Thursday (Sept. 29), which is rather exciting. With signs like the one above coloring the hallways, we’re hoping for a nice turnout.

Shout out to Jenna, Nicole, and the rest of the team for being so crafty.

How To Volunteer

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1. Send a brief e-mail to graduate assistant Chris Speckman explaining your interest in volunteering. You will either be asked to attend one of the volunteer orientation sessions at the start of the school year (dates will be announced soon), or you will receive additional information about the basics of tutoring at Shortridge either via e-mail or through a one-on-one session with one of the project leaders. Those interested can decide to volunteer their services at any point during the Fall semester.

2. Download the Indianapolis Public Schools Volunteer Participation Form, and drop off the completed form at the Writers’ Studio (Jordan Hall, Rm. 304). The form can also be left in Professor Susan Sutherlin’s mailbox, located in the Department of English office (JH 308).

3. Download and complete the IPS Volunteer Criminal History Check Form, and bring it (along with valid personal ID) to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters (located in Room E101 of the City-County Building, 200 East Washington St.) On-street metered parking is available on the streets surrounding the main entrance of the building, which is located on East Market Street between Delaware and Alabama. Upon entering the City-County building, you will be subject to an airport-like security checkpoint. At the police station, you will have your fingerprints scanned digitally. All charges are waived for IPS volunteers. The background checks are typically completed in three to five days.

4. Once you have received notice of your clearance from graduate assistant Chris Speckman or professor Susan Sutherlin, you will receive e-mail notices (including times and a short agenda) for the days that Butler students and staffers plan to be at Shortridge. By clicking the RSVP link in the e-mail, you will be asked to set up a Google Calendar account, which you can do by using your existing Butler or non-Butler e-mail address. Once your Google Calendar account is active, you can RSVP on this website by clicking the Calendar tab. While it is not necessary to RSVP when your are unable to attend, we ask that you RSVP as far in advance as possible when you do plan to volunteer, so that we have an idea of how many helpers to expect.

5. Before your first session at Shortridge, you will receive instructions about where to park and enter the school, as well as what to do if you arrive in the middle of a particular session (which is perfectly fine, if necessary). Any other questions should be directed to graduate assistant Chris Speckman.