Write out your voice!

“I write because I’m scared of writing but I’m more scared of not writing.” - Gloria Anzaluda

Today I was very fortunate to conduct a workshop for roughly 40 9th-graders from University High School, Newark. I focused on the importance and intensity of writing in college, as well as some of the assumptions and expectations of "college-level" writing. I must admit that I did have some general reluctance concerning the group that came to see me. It wasn't necessarily a cultural inferiority I was experiencing, or atleast I don't think it was... I suppose I was just essentially nervous to take on such a large group of high school freshman from Newark. For some reason, I had the predisposition that everything I have seen in Hollywood movies was going to spill over in this meeting. It was SO naive of me to think that I was going to have to break up a gang-related fight or something ridiculous. Luckily, these kids were extremely bright and cooperative- It was an overall pleasure to spend that hour with them discussing theories on transformational writing and writing from uncertainty. I also took under consideration the thematic inquiry into "assumptions" we have been battling with the last few class periods, which really helped me frame objectivity toward this group.

I actually decided to preface the workshop with two writing assignments based on "assumptions." Before I introduced myself, I asked the students to write about me. WHO IS JON TUMMILLO? I provided a picture- my WPU ID from '04- and some helpful questions to consider (such as "What music does Jon listen to?" and "Where is Jon from and where has he been?") Some students tried to size me up without any questions, but others tried to take a few shortcuts by asking me about myself... Throughout the course of their assumption-writing, I returned each question with another question- which seemed to frustrate them greatly. For example, one student asked me what my major was in college, to which I replied "What do you think?" This oddly introduced "Socratic questioning," a topic I would later cover during the workshop. Additionally, to guide some of the students, I provided my 'culture collage' from class. This clued some of them in on some of my obvious experiences, hobbies and interests.



I then had some of the students report back to me what they observed solely based on my appearance. For each correct or semi-correct assumption, I counted on my right hand; for each wrongful assumption I counted on my left hand. For most students, it split evenly between both kinds of assumptions. Pizza WAS one of my favorite foods. Baseball WAS my favorite sport. However, I was NOT into country music, NOT from Passaic County, nor was I that religious. It was made clear to the group that we simply can not assume who someone is based on initial appearance. To reinforce this, I showed this video clip:



This was especially shocking to those students who jotted down that "Jon was soft-spoken and reserved."

I then flipped it around on the students, and told them that I would try to make assumptions about them. To illustrate this, I conducted a writing assignment (thanks to Dr. Khmbrly Howard, who showed my advanced educational psychology class this "ice-breaker") where the students wrote down three statements about themselves- two of which were true and one of which was false. I then went around the room picking volunteers who read each statement about themselves. I would try to weed out the false statement out of the three, which I inevitably failed miserably at doing... It was a great deductive reasoning exercise, and it induced passionate participation among the group as well. It showed them that I could not possibly know them without getting to know them. I commenced both of these exercises by asking some philosophical questions: "How do our assumptions frame our approach to living or lives?" and "What does this have to do with writing?" were just two examples. The discussion was AWESOME. These kids were so intelligent and thoughtful, and so eager to explore these questions- to dig deep into why I was asking them.

I then dove deeper into writing theory and expectations. I drew the line between the robotic and cognitive-driven essay writing they are accustomed to in high school (Dr. Bob Whitney calls this "anti-writing") and the transformational and affective writing done outside school (journal, lyric, poetry, etc.) I still made it clear to them that the formal essay is essential to know and utilize in college. I also indicated that many teachers would expect well-honed revision/grammar skills and structural solidity. However, I asked them "Is formal, standardized essay writing akin to how we actually think and approach life?" Mostly all students agreed that it was not "fun," and it didn't make them excited to engage with their writing assignments. I then assured them that transformational writing, coupled with prior knowledge and experience-recall, could in deed coincide with academic writing. I brought up "blogs" as one of the examples of how teachers in college (void of having to teach for the test) can get their students interested in writing academically while entertaining the cathartic and emotional outlets essential in real writing engagement.

To conclude the session, I provided that uncertainty and inquiry were two essential tools in college writing. I let them know that it is totally OK to NOT know what they were writing about, and to always question and be critical of their writing and their writing subject. To better illustrate this, I referenced the pivotal Socrates quote: "True knowledge consists in knowing that you know nothing." We then discussed theoretical approaches to thinking about writing. It seems as if these students were somewhat relieved to hear from a graduate student that it was OK to not be certain. I explicitly modeled this by talking a little bit about my high school experience compared to the open-ended inquiry of college. Before they left to go back to Newark, we had a quick Q&A about general writing-related topics... Some of the students asked how long my longest paper was thus far... Referring to my ongoing novel that I have been writing, I jokingly replied "I started one in 2001 and I haven't finished it yet." All in all, I feel that today was a complete success- a "teachable moment." These students impressed me beyond explanation. They also greatly assisted in breaking down those naive cultural barriers I sometimes erect between a group completely different than me. The students and I left with the reverberating satisfaction that writing can CHANGE us, and that academic writing can be invigorating if attached to our story.