Where I’m From
An Intergenerational Collaboration with Woodstock Union High School’s Structured Writing Class and the Thompson Senior Center *Draft*
“Where I’m From” has been a collaborative project with the Thompson Senior Center in Woodstock, VT, and Woodstock Union High School’s Structured Writing class. It represents one thread of this year’s class theme, “Still I Rise” — an investigation into how decisions and choices made in the face of adversity can impact our own lives, the lives of others, and even the course of history. From Mamie Till and Amy Biehl to Greta Thunberg. From Lewis Hamilton and George Dawson to Nelson Mandela — how do our personal, small, seemingly insignificant choices accumulate to shape our world? What power do we have in our own quiet, everyday lives to build a better future?
One “quiet, everyday” choice we have is to simply share our time and good will with others. We are sincerely grateful to Pam Butler at the Thompson Center for helping us coordinate this project. We began with the simple goal of bringing teenagers and seniors together. Over the course of four visits, our first awkward introductions slowly gave way to hugs and invitations, read-alouds, authentic living room conversations, and pictures of great-grandchildren. “This is going to be … bad,” gave way to, “How long do we have to wait to see them again?”
A very special thank you to Alan, Carol, and Jane. You listened to our stories, shared your wisdom, practiced writing with us, and showed up again and again to forge new friendships with young people. Thank you! Alan’s quote from our last meeting will stay with us for a long time — it exemplifies our central pursuit as students, teachers, and citizens:
“This has been an exercise in what is kind and good and true in the world.” -Alan Perkins
Project Description
While reading and writing about the book, “Life Is So Good,” by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman, students embarked on a personal reflection of Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still, I Rise.” We examined questions such as:
- What makes a life “good?”
- How can personal responses to adversity shape our lives, our communities, and even the world? Amy Biehl, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Lewis Hamilton, Greta Thunberg, Emmett and Mamie Till, Carolyn Bryant Donham, and George Dawson were a few of the lives and stories we investigated.
- Is there value in recording our own instances of “rising?” How can appreciating where we come from impact where we are going?
- How can we connect with senior citizens (in the spirit of George Dawson) of Woodstock and create reflections on living “good lives” with them?
Learning Outcomes
WCSU PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE CRITERIA:
Stewardship ~ Students demonstrated responsibility for our local community by engaging senior citizens in authentic, collaborative work and building meaningful relationships. They demonstrated a committment to diverse viewpoints and acted with empathy and care for others.
Academic Excellence ~ Students applied their classwork and content knowledge in a real world situation. They exercised the ability to evaluate their writing critically and competently.
Skillful Communication ~ Students effectively communicated in both digital and face-to-face environments for a range of purposes. They practiced listening and valueing alternative perspectives and articulated their thoughts and ideas clearly.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9–10.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9–10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9–10.1.C: Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.
- This project followed a semester of writing instruction tied to George Dawson and Richard Glaubman’s book, “Life Is So Good.”
- We followed the Landmark School’s Outreach curriculum, “From Talking To Writing: Strategies for Scaffolding Expository Expression,” by T.M. Jennings and C.W. Haynes.
- Poetry inspired by George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From” Poetry Project and Matt McCormick’s Social Studies class.
Student Work
Excerpts from “Where I’m From” by E. Smith
I am from family. I am from my Mom’s hugs — A warm and safe space. I am from music and education — I am from Hey look a chicken! From Be kind to others, even if you hate them.
I am from the colorful trees Of the Green Mountain State, and The smell of spring in the air. I am from people Who want to do good. From friends who care about me, From thinking about others before myself. I am from those moments, That make me who I am.
Excerpts from “Where I’m From” by N. Springer
Where I am from is Vermont. I am from getting bullied, But overcoming all of that Into who I am now. That’s a better person, I think I could ever be.
Where I am from is my beautiful Mom and my Dad Who have always helped me through difficulties
That I couldn’t explain Even if I wanted to.
Reflections
As my class and I walked across the road to the Thomson Senior Center, I was personally thinking this was going to be boring and they were just going to talk about the “interesting things that happened at church.” Then, we got to the center and I looked at what I thought was antique. When we walked into the historic building the door opened and the classical bell above the door rang. As I looked around my suspicions were confirmed and the inside was as outdated as the outside with the fancy dining utensils and the bulky desktops. We were waiting for our teacher to settle while we were in a room that must have been the living room with our soon to be partners.
“I was personally thinking this was going to be boring and they were just going to talk about the ‘interesting things that happened at church.’”
I looked around and and noticed my partner was on a couch knitting and I thought, “This is going to be bad.” Over the course of two months I learned not to judge a book by its cover because boy was I wrong. We separated into groups and started talking — I asked some questions my teacher gave out on piece of paper. Once Jane started talking with us, things got easier for me because she told us unexpected stories about football. It turns out, Jane used to play football in front of the Woodstock town jail where her friends and she had an audience fit for a king. Where the inmates cheered them on as if they were watching the Super Bowl — one floor chose one team and the other picked the other team.’
“Over the course of two months I learned not to judge a book by its cover because boy was I wrong.”
