2 years ago
Posted by: team2011
My day at Hay School
(Tuesday, 10th November…)
For me, Tuesday was the most memorable day of the Chicago trip. We spent the day at John Hay Academy, an elementary school in Austin, Chicago, working with a group of 20 American students. Most of these students had never written and performed their own work before. They shuffled into the school auditorium, nervous and excited to meet the London students.
After Peter and Jacob’s brilliant introduction to writing striking poems, we divided the students into groups (one British student with three American students) and led them through an exercise, writing ‘Where I’m From’ poems - poems about place, identity and the things that make us unique. This was a beautiful exercise to do with students from two sides of the Atlantic. Parallel issues around gun crime in Chicago and knife crime in London came up; students shared memories of food, smells, places and people from their very different childhoods and backgrounds.
It was wonderful to watch the London students step up, share their writing and performance skills and take leading roles in their groups. The Hay students pushed themselves really hard too, jumping in at the deep end and putting incredible energy into devising their pieces with the Brits. At the end of the day, all the groups performed their pieces in front of around 250 students from the school. It’s always a challenge getting students to stand up in front of their peers, particularly when the material they’re sharing is personal and new, but the performers and the audience connected in an amazing way. I’ve hardly ever seen students so proud of their work and so grateful for an opportunity.
When it was time to say goodbye, some students were in tears. One girl I’d be working with told me she hadn’t cared about anything in this way for a long time. I’ve always felt the value of bringing poetry and performance into schools, but I’ve never experienced it this strongly. The students will hold this experience with them for a long time, perhaps forever. I definitely will. - Miriam.
A group poem by British and American students
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