After receiving feedback from Tim and Cyndi, I am starting to see some development. This piece that I have been working on is starting to look less like a boulder and more like a sculpture.
Cyndi showed me a new view on my project: sliced into three definite parts.
1. My Writing
I will me assembling a book of my own poetry, each piece accompanied by a short piece of prose that explains my thoughts/experiences/purpose in writing/selecting.
2. Create Workshop
I want to develop a kind a of writing workshop for young adults that would actually inspire youth to express themselves honestly, openly, passionately and in their own voice, and hope to use my poetry collection as part of the workshop format.
3. Use The Safe Space, My Work Shop
I want to actually conduct these workshops in the area.
The next few months will be a mix of working on this project, taking summer classes, many medical appointments (more stress than pain, I promise), and finishing The Harry Potter Series (on book four!). However, after the feedback I have received, I feel it will be easier to think about, develop, and begin to conduct my capstone. I am going to go back to my freshman year curriculum and read through my Concepts of The Self text books and look up "teenage writers", "writing workshops", and "young adult writing" in the MIC’s book search database as well as using an article search via EBSCO. As well, I will be spending some time at UVM this summer in a writing course. I plan on using the course, my professor, and the UVM facilities to work on my project. I listed many resources from my high school, Burr and Burton Academy, on the final plan I turned in at the end of the recent Spring term. I plan to contact them this summer and see what they can do for me, or which direction they point me in. Some of these people are Bill Muench, Robert Hunter, and Sunny Wright, all of whom are part of the Burr and Burton Academy English Department.
The last development I would like to make in these next few months is discovering this place. Where will I invite these young adults to? Where will they feel safe? relaxed? inspired? respected? maybe even, cool?
I hope, and know, summer has been splendid for you all. Keep up the good work, keep reading, and, of course, keep smiling.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
It's All Greek To Me
Hello, kind friends.
My apologies for not getting to this sooner--I was in Greece for a week without Internet. Yes, Greece has Internet. But, you try asking an older Greek man who hasn't seen a pair of young, freshly tanned American legs in months. I am almost glad I couldn't understand him. Even if I wanted to get on the Internet, there was a solid communication.
However, throughout my time in Greece I was thinking about my capstone project. How does publishing a children's book connect to the COR? Am I tapping into Aesthetic Expressions by the illustrations? Am I taking the skills I learned from Concepts of Community by finding and illustrator? Does this mean I should change my project to the collection of character pieces?
By working with character, I suppose I am working with my Rhetoric skills, My Aesthetic Expressions skills, as well as my skills found in Concept of Self & Community.
To be completely honest, which I love to do, I feel like I am bullshitting this. I DON'T WANT TO. I just don't see the connections between the COR and the program when considering this project. It's all Greek to me! Out in the real world, I can see how my skills will kick in--but ask for this project. I'm just lost. Please, hook me up with some suggestions. Or a few words of encouragement. Please, help me!
My apologies for not getting to this sooner--I was in Greece for a week without Internet. Yes, Greece has Internet. But, you try asking an older Greek man who hasn't seen a pair of young, freshly tanned American legs in months. I am almost glad I couldn't understand him. Even if I wanted to get on the Internet, there was a solid communication.
However, throughout my time in Greece I was thinking about my capstone project. How does publishing a children's book connect to the COR? Am I tapping into Aesthetic Expressions by the illustrations? Am I taking the skills I learned from Concepts of Community by finding and illustrator? Does this mean I should change my project to the collection of character pieces?
By working with character, I suppose I am working with my Rhetoric skills, My Aesthetic Expressions skills, as well as my skills found in Concept of Self & Community.
To be completely honest, which I love to do, I feel like I am bullshitting this. I DON'T WANT TO. I just don't see the connections between the COR and the program when considering this project. It's all Greek to me! Out in the real world, I can see how my skills will kick in--but ask for this project. I'm just lost. Please, hook me up with some suggestions. Or a few words of encouragement. Please, help me!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Down To two
I have narrowed my Capstone Project ideas down to two.
After looking at my classmates and professors comments, I have realized that two of my topics have a much larger load of my writing. Those will be my two topics.
To help my own writing skills, I think my project focusing on character would be better. I can also see this helping other students at Champlain in multiple courses. I remember doing lots of character work in Jim's creative writing classes as well as Eliot Sloan's course when we wrote our memoirs.
However, I would love nothing more than to share my story of what I realized were my "daddy problems" resolved. I found love in this world, and it filled a void that has existed since I was 7. I have a collection of works ranging from poetry, letters, and short stories from my experiences around the world--literally.
However, there is one more idea that I would love to do for my Capstone Project. I would love to publish my first book. It is called The Banny Nanny. I wrote this story in Tanya Lee Stone's "Writing Childrens Literature" course and have been dieing to go somewhere with it.
So, give it to me. What do you think?
After looking at my classmates and professors comments, I have realized that two of my topics have a much larger load of my writing. Those will be my two topics.
To help my own writing skills, I think my project focusing on character would be better. I can also see this helping other students at Champlain in multiple courses. I remember doing lots of character work in Jim's creative writing classes as well as Eliot Sloan's course when we wrote our memoirs.
However, I would love nothing more than to share my story of what I realized were my "daddy problems" resolved. I found love in this world, and it filled a void that has existed since I was 7. I have a collection of works ranging from poetry, letters, and short stories from my experiences around the world--literally.
However, there is one more idea that I would love to do for my Capstone Project. I would love to publish my first book. It is called The Banny Nanny. I wrote this story in Tanya Lee Stone's "Writing Childrens Literature" course and have been dieing to go somewhere with it.
So, give it to me. What do you think?
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Raving, Ranting, Mostly Rambling
When Tim asked us to talk about what we wanted to do with our capstones, I just about fell out of my chair. Capstone?! I'm trying to survive four months in Dublin, damnit! But, turns out, I have some ideas. So here they are, my friends, let me know what you think.
1) Character
There are people you meet in your life that you will never forget. You may speak to them for twenty minutes, run into them on the bus, or spend years of your life with them. I’m talking about the people that you talk about and say, “That person is a fuckin’ character.”
I have a list of names of “characters.” What I want to do it dedicate a semester to writing a collection of pieces about these people and what makes them a “character”. This book would not only display my own talent in writing, but also illustrate how to develop character in writing.
2) Two Schools—One Project
I have always wanted to be a teacher. But, I don’t want to teach 9th grade English classes. I don’t even want to teach now that I think about it. I want to inspire. I want to intrigue young people to write.
I have learned at Champlain College that work-shopping pieces with a class and having a bunch of editing eyes is the best thing for ones writing. I want to make this happen for high school students.
My plan is this: Pair creative writing classes from separate high schools to do a semester long work-shopping extravaganza. I want my high school, Burr and Burton, and a high school in Burlington to become a team and help each other edit.
If this were to be a success, it could spread across the country. I can only imagine how the editing eyes of a California student would see the work of a Vermont student. They would be able to identify what needs more description to the extreme.
Jim and Tim have both been telling us, you will find your best editors rarely and in the weirdest places. This could be a perfect opportunity for high school students to find editors before they even get to college.
3) My Dream Boat
I love the school project, but I would love to do something with my own writing.
So, here it goes. My Dad died when I was seven. I spent my whole life without a male figure to take care of me, to tell me I was beautiful when I went to prom for the first time, to tell me, “You’re boyfriend was a piece of shit, anyways. You will find a real man, someday.”
I had to tell myself all that.
But, I found the man my life has been missing. For three years, my admiration developed from a friend point of view to a lover point of view. I have written about this man constantly since I met him. I have developed a sense of “the man in my life” in our relationship and it has been a huge turning point for me.
I never had a man in my life; I now have a man in my life.
This collection of work (poetry, short stories, articles from the paper) would display my work as a writer as well as who I have become as a person.
1) Character
There are people you meet in your life that you will never forget. You may speak to them for twenty minutes, run into them on the bus, or spend years of your life with them. I’m talking about the people that you talk about and say, “That person is a fuckin’ character.”
I have a list of names of “characters.” What I want to do it dedicate a semester to writing a collection of pieces about these people and what makes them a “character”. This book would not only display my own talent in writing, but also illustrate how to develop character in writing.
2) Two Schools—One Project
I have always wanted to be a teacher. But, I don’t want to teach 9th grade English classes. I don’t even want to teach now that I think about it. I want to inspire. I want to intrigue young people to write.
I have learned at Champlain College that work-shopping pieces with a class and having a bunch of editing eyes is the best thing for ones writing. I want to make this happen for high school students.
My plan is this: Pair creative writing classes from separate high schools to do a semester long work-shopping extravaganza. I want my high school, Burr and Burton, and a high school in Burlington to become a team and help each other edit.
If this were to be a success, it could spread across the country. I can only imagine how the editing eyes of a California student would see the work of a Vermont student. They would be able to identify what needs more description to the extreme.
Jim and Tim have both been telling us, you will find your best editors rarely and in the weirdest places. This could be a perfect opportunity for high school students to find editors before they even get to college.
3) My Dream Boat
I love the school project, but I would love to do something with my own writing.
So, here it goes. My Dad died when I was seven. I spent my whole life without a male figure to take care of me, to tell me I was beautiful when I went to prom for the first time, to tell me, “You’re boyfriend was a piece of shit, anyways. You will find a real man, someday.”
I had to tell myself all that.
But, I found the man my life has been missing. For three years, my admiration developed from a friend point of view to a lover point of view. I have written about this man constantly since I met him. I have developed a sense of “the man in my life” in our relationship and it has been a huge turning point for me.
I never had a man in my life; I now have a man in my life.
This collection of work (poetry, short stories, articles from the paper) would display my work as a writer as well as who I have become as a person.
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