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Teaching and LearningWriters Gone Public Provides Best Student Experience
Professor Bonnie Sunstein believes writing should be about collaboration, not competition. “It should be about putting your ideas on paper and sharing them with a reader,” she said. To help bring that idea to life, Sunstein created Writers Gone Public. The twice-annual event is a commemoration at the end of each semester for nonfiction writing students. The undergraduates have a chance to share what they’ve written and celebrate their artistic accomplishments over two nights of readings. Sunstein, who has a joint appointment in English and Education, describes it as “an evening of celebration and homage to the value of composing and the importance of teaching.” Each of the 12 nonfiction writing course sections, which are led by nonfiction MFA students Sunstein supervises, has 10 minutes to spend however it prefers. Sometimes the classes choose one student to read the entire time. Sometimes students volunteer. Sometimes the time is split among an entire group. “It’s up to the people who are willing to share what they’ve written and I really like it that way because I think the end result of a writing course ought to be readers,” Sunstein said. The event, which has been going on for a decade, draws a large, rapt audience. “Kids bring their parents and their girlfriends and boyfriends and their roommates and their professors. There are people in our community who come every semester,” Sunstein said. “We always pack the room.” Those who share their writing receive T-shirts commemorating their experience and get to hear their Teaching Assistants introduce them and describe their strengths. “That’s the part that always makes me cry,” Sunstein said. Teaching Assistant and Nonfiction Writing MFA student Tim Denevi said he was proud of his students after the event this winter and amazed to see how “excited and giddy” they were after they read. “Before reading, it&'s much like inviting someone to your house. You suddenly realize all of its flaws—the beds are messy and you didn't vacuum and that's all you can think of. But once you actually do the reading and share your work, there's an incredible relief,” he said. “Students say it was one of their best experiences. It's one of the best events I’ve seen at the university.” Teaching Assistant Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel said Writers Gone Public has an “unexpected artistic impact” as well. “Readers can experience the way a sentence sounds in a room full of people,” she said. “They are able to hear which moment causes a gasp or a laugh. Reading at this event certainly provides readers with a chance for their work to be heard, but going public also allows readers to hear themselves in a new way.” “What Girls Know” Theater Project Provides Positive Experience for Juvenile Home GirlsArt Education Professor Rachel Williams provided a chance for girls in the Iowa Juvenile Home (IJH) to foster positive relationships, build self esteem, and to express themselves as artists. Williams received a Roy J. Carver Foundation grant to implement a theatre program at the IJH called “What Girls Know,” a national program aimed at helping adolescent girls “thrive and succeed” in difficult situations. “I wanted to introduce theatre because I thought the girls might enjoy having a creative outlet for expression and to re-tell their stories to find patterns of resilience and strength in behaviors and reactions to various situations,” Williams said. The IJH is a Department of Human Services facility serving youth between 12 and 18 years of age from all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Prior to Williams’ project, the center wasn’t able to offer performing arts opportunities to its residents beyond music therapy for individuals. Wendy Miller, an Art Ed. doctoral student, was one of two UI students who worked with Williams on the project. She said the girls in the IJH often become “invisible.” “People forget about them and that they need to have positive experiences to help them as they grow and learn to deal with whatever has brought them to this place,” she said. “They need to see positive role models and see that women care about them and want them to have successes and feel good about who they are.” Through the grant, Williams brought “What Girls Know” founder and Obie award-winning actress Brenda Currin to the IJH in Toledo for a five-week project over the summer. The program culminated with the girls performing an original theatre work for their parents, peers, and IJH teachers and staff. Williams said she saw the girls “transformed” by the experience. English major Rebecca McCray, who worked with Williams on the project, described the experience as “cathartic” for the girls. Joan Garbo, principal at IJH, agreed. “Acting scenarios was less risky than actually talking about them,” Garbo said. “The girls connected in a way that supported each other and gave them a better understanding of why others behave the way they do.” Williams hopes other IJH girls will benefit from the project as well. She and her team created a curriculum guide to help IJH staff continue the work. Grant money also funded costumes and props for future productions. |
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