What better primary source is there to study both history and memoir-writing than a WWII veteran?
Artist Kendra Wadsworth teaching a lesson
Partners in the Arts director Liz Sheehan visited Clover Hill High School to observe implementation of their Engaging Creative Thinkers (ECT) Award project, The Paths Project. Students in the 10th-12th grade worked with a writer and a visual artist to interview local WWII veterans and their families to create literary and visual depictions of their stories. This project brought classroom content into the community for Chesterfield County Public Schools students and allowed them to integrate multiple disciplines.
Collaborative Effort
The project team consisted of Clover Hill creative writing teacher Barbara Bingham, history teacher James Triesler, and fine arts teacher Donna Stables. The visiting artists were painter Kendra Dawn Wadsworth and writer Erica Orloff. Kendra was a former student of Donna’s, which made her a great role model for any young person who has a passionate interest, but may not be sure about pursuing that passion as an adult. Barbara created a blog documenting her thoughts on the project, including posts contributed by both Erica and Kendra detailing what the project meant to them.
Writer Erica Orloff working with students
Students Finding Their Voices
Liz sat in on a senior class that was working with Erica on the meaning, structure, and making of memoir. Erica had never worked with students before, but quickly grew to love it. She laid out her information and insights in a compelling way. She asked the students to make a list of ten important events in their lives. And more than just describing the day they got their driver’s license, for example – she had them include what that transitional moment meant to them. Liz joined in the list-making and was surprised by what she came up with.
Erica then asked the students to do 15-20 minutes of free writing on one of the topics they had listed. With this approach, it’s very hard not to edit yourself, but to keep writing the whole time and let it take you where it will. Liz described her surprise that her “pen seemed to be in charge.” She appreciated that Erica and Barbara didn’t ask the students to share what they had written. Their work was still private, something to think about and develop. Writing a little of their own memoir helped the Clover Hill students understand how personal experiences can have universal significance. And that was a lesson in itself.
This project reached about 200 students in ways that are far-reaching, yet hard to quantify. By listening to the experiences of experts in their community, students saw the value in their life stories own and felt more ready to document and share them. Beyond learning the mechanics of writing, they found their voices. Hear those voices in their final arts and literary magazine.
Partners in the Arts (PIA) awarded Engaging Creative Thinkers (ECT) grants to teachers from 1994 to 2021. These grants made possible over 200 innovative, interdisciplinary projects in Richmond area schools. Since then, the PIA consortium has supported both educator professional development and in-school project implementation through the Joan Oates Institute for Integrated Learning.
The ECT Awards provided opportunities for teachers to reach all students across content areas, while developing critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and citizenship. ECT projects engaged a class, grade-level or, whole school, and connected teachers, students, families, and the community.
