I am honored to be asked to be a presenter following tonight's screening of American Creed at the Stamford Public Library-Ferguson tonight at 6 p.m.
The movie, produced for PBS, asks teachers, educators and youth advocates to have students write, create, and respond to the contents of the film, as several individuals discuss the American mission, its purpose, and what it means to be a citizen in the United States (I've embedded the film below so that all who read my blog are given the opportunity to view the film that will be shown).
For the last several summers, CWP-Fairfield has offered Project Citizen, a young adult literacy lab for argumentative and political writing (the brainchild of Central High School, Bridgeport, teacher Shaun Mitchell and tremendous advocate to the National Writing Project mission). Over the last two summers, we've benefited through Supporting Effective Educator Grants to increase enrollment and to have youth from a wide variety of communities participate, including urban, suburban, rural and indigenous young people. Our experiences with this program have been immeasurable and, tonight, I will highlight some of what we've learned from their writing and expression.
I can't help but think about how the philosophy of Ubuntu, togetherness and humanity, adopted from many African youth who've been part of our summer programs, seems to align beautifully with the message of the film.
What's your American story? Where have your people come from? How have your ancestors sacrificed so that you could write another chapter for yourself?
I am looking forward to talking with tonight's audience and reflecting on some of my own teaching and place in a heterogeneous, complex, but mission-driven society. I hope you'll find time in your schedules to watch the 55-minute video and find a group of people to talk about its message.
To me, this is as American as it gets.
What an honor to be part of this phenomenal opportunity.
No comments:
Post a Comment