journals and memory

a childhood memory:

I think I was in second grade (I remember my childhood by grade, not by age). Three girls had been teasing me every day on the playground for a week straight. These girls were bigger, older and meaner. I didn't know them. I didn't know why they picked on me.

I told my teacher, and she did nothing. She said, "Just avoid them." That didn't help.

I told the recess aide. She said, "Try to stay away from them." They didn't get it. The girls were seeking me out, like I was a rabbit and they had just bought a bow.

I told my mom. I'll never forget her advice: "If nobody is willing to help you, then take it into your own hands. Solve the problem yourself."

What do you mean, mom?

"You shouldn't start fights, and you shouldn't hit girls. But I'm giving you permission this one time. The next time they start something, give one of them a good, hard push. Then clench your fists and be ready to fight. I promise they'll leave you alone."

I did just that. I don't think I ever saw those girls again.

things that pleased me:

1. those chicken tenders at Dooley's

2. the smell of Lisa's shampoo

3. driving and listening to my new CD, with very little traffic

4. eggs and bacon on Sunday morning

5. sleeping in on Monday

6. planning my trip to Montana

7. jogging around the lake under the sun

8. drinking wine and reminiscing about Paris

9. kissing Lisa goodbye

things I didn't like:

1. being told I was in charge of interviews at work

2. planning for my new class

3. watching Duke beat Baylor with the refs' help

4. listening to Lisa get mad about my comment

5. Lisa rolling over

6. realizing I didn't know how to work my new DVD player

7. thinking about Easter without Lisa

8. hearing that my soccer player may not play this year

9. realizing that I'm out of milk

characterization

naming various characters:

petty thief- Richard Francois

bitter woman- Tabitha Greene

shy young man- Tim Simpkins

lecherous boss- Arnie Slade

lottery winner- Gladys Merriweather

characteristics of age:

music they listen to

car they drive

style of clothing

hairstyle

physical shape (belly, bags under eyes, stretchmarks, etc)

hair (hairy ears, gray hair, hair on upper lip of woman)

terms they use

how they drive

awareness of money (clipping coupons, etc)

bedtime

TV shows and movies they watch

how they feel about strangers

political views

things they are concerned about

number of children/grandchildren

color of teeth

smell of clothes

hobbies

beginnings

pairs of beginning sentences:

She was free to be concerned about the earthquake in Chile, the calorie count in yogurt and the date of the Dave Matthews concert; after all, she was born to the right pair of sandy-haired parents.

He sat on the bus trying to start a conversation, but it wasn't easy; he smelled of rotting dreams and whatever was in that paper cup.

beginning a story:

Everyone at the table talked to somebody else, except her. She sat staring straight ahead, looking neither interested nor bored. That's what attracted him. He had to know her.

"My Own Diversity" assignment

Dovetailing from the "Where I'm From" poetry assignment, I like to give a writing assignment called "My Own Diversity"......

My students typically feel proud and emboldened after their "Where I'm From" poems; they feel that their voice matters in the classroom, that they have something valuable to say (particularly about themselves), and they realize that writing is not as hard as it's sometimes cracked up to be.

This leads into the "My Own Diversity" assignment, which attempts to subtly teach a more formal writing style (following and outline format) without making it the crux of the lesson. The objective is to have the students reveal themselves in more detail than the poem did, while connecting their background to their future goals. I recently used this assignment in English class of our Community Health Workers program at Summit Academy. Here how it looked:

Knowing yourself and understanding what makes you different from others is an important aspect to community health work. It allows you to put yourself in other people's shoes, while also better enabling you to empower individuals to overcome barriers. For this assignment, you will do the following:

TOPIC 1- Tell me about your background. For example, where did you grow up? How many brothers and sisters do you have? What was your family like?

TOPIC 2- What are some of your favorite things to do or places to go, and why? What are some of your hobbies? What are you passionate about?

TOPIC 3- What makes you different from other people? What qualities make you special? What are your strengths? What things about yourself would you like to improve or work on, and why?

TOPIC 4- How will your diversity (the various things that make you who you are) help you to be a better community health worker? Explain why.

I let the students know that I'm grading spelling, grammar and punctuation. But it's not the focus of the grading. Rather, I'm primarily looking to see that each topic is fully fleshed out, and that the writing is organized by topic.

To me, this is a nice transition from the "Where I'm From" poem, as it helps to take students' ideas from their poem and develop them into a more formal structure. And of course, for many students, they are their own favorite subject.