Words...

I know I've written about this before - if not in the blogging platform, for an essay for sure... the view from this podium is familiar. I get very passionate on the topic of (and power of) words and yesterday the spark was ignited within me when I spoke with a group of young students (middle and high school age) on the subject. This mini-workshop within a 6 week multicultural camp was creative writing - topic: All About Me - it was supposed to be presented to the group but I decided (in sizing up my 'audience' upon introduction) to make it more of a journal type entry where they didn't worry about grammar or context or sentence structure or (most importantly) revealing a side of themselves they didn't feel comfortable revealing. At first, the young men and women had little to no interest in the idea of writing - the empty enormity of the white paper in front of them was daunting and intimidating. Before writing on their own, I started with my chat on words and the power of writing - I asked for them to throw out any writers they knew - summer reading lists in full bloom! I began to compile my list on an overhead screen including Nicholas Sparks, Dr. Suess, Emily Bronte, JK Rowling, Mark Twain - I threw my own name on the list and atleast half didn't recognize the name even though I was presenting(ouch!). I then continued their list when they became silent - Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Eminem, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z... I wanted to let them know writing comes out in all sorts of genres. I began to read off lyrics from several top 40 songs and we discussed what they meant - because of the difference in ages, it was difficult to really get too deep in discussion, but it was just a little taste for what I love to discuss... the meaning of the written word.
Although only a few of the students were familiar with a lot of Eminem's work - they were familiar with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney (moreso the Beatles on the whole) and Taylor Swift. The passion behind what these songwriters have written (b/c of either feelings in their personal life experiences or their stance on political and world issues) is palpable. The anger, the frustration, the hope, the struggle... I referred back to a song I did pick apart in college - Boys 2 Men's 'Thank You' - they were actually familiar with it, surprisingly enough, and enjoyed talking about the possibilities of who the writers may have been 'thanking.'
My main purpose was to get them thinking about words - reading isn't always fun or easy - for those of us slow readers, it becomes quite a task and loses some pleasure - definitely if it's a book you HAVE to read! But if you think about what a writer (song, story, poem, movie...) might have been trying to express, it can make it a little more fun for a teenage (reluctant) reader. I did tell them that hopefully they have the kind of english teacher who encourages them to find their own meaning in stories or poems - I felt like a little bit of a trader to teachers since my bills are paid by a teacher... was that wrong!? I did get feedback from a mom of one of the boys that he did really enjoy the workshop even though he doesn't like to write... which was a welcome surprise after another boy took out a snack and started to walk around the classroom during our chat.
I am going back next week and the topic will be 'Cultural Pride.' Should be pretty cool and interesting - oooohh, what a great opportunity for my 'words are powerful' speech - too much?