Sunday, March 14, 2010

Last week I met my friend Barbara's sister. Both are writers; Barbara teaches
adults in the Concord area and her sister, Ruth, teaches boys/young adults who are
in a juvenile detention residence in Oregon.
I was fascinated by Ruth's response to one of Barbara's blogs about teaching writing.
It was an exercise she had done with with her young students. The prompt was a 5 minute list
of " places darkness hangs out " then put a verb with each noun ie "nightmares terrify"
" holes consume "
When I met Ruth we talked about her work, how powerful the writing is with these young
people. She jokingly referred to them as her "bad boys" and I knew she felt they were any
thing but. I wish there had been more time to share our stories about teaching and learning
from the amazing young folks who have graced our lives. I am certain she is having a profound
impact on these young boys. It is amazing what a difference one person can have on the universe. I hope she is proud of the work she is doing.
This is my list. Thank you Ruth for the inspiration!
words wound
dreams transport
basements swallow
alleyways swirl
closets rattle
prisons stifle
writing runs
imagination stirs
secrets muffle
silence suffocates
nightmares swoop
depression stabs
fear rustles
caves swallow
pits burn
hearts beat
minds race

2 comments:

  1. imagination stirs

    secrets muffle

    minds race

    wow


    good exercise! I will try it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. drugs derange
    flies irritate
    nightmares awaken
    mold reproduces
    throats scream
    caves entice
    midnight calms
    tar sticks

    Thanks Robin for your participation in my lesson plan and for motivating me to give it a whirl! What goes around comes around!

    Try softness.

    ReplyDelete