ì  Publishing  the  Perspec0ves  of  Housing-­‐Insecure  Youth    

PROJECT  AMPLIFY  

Francesca  M.  Lupia  Greenhills  School  

Sponsor:  Mark  Randolph  Mentor:  Adam  Plunke<  

Issue  1  June  2014  

MISSION  STATEMENT  

•  “am·∙pli·∙fy  verb  \-­‐ˌ.\  :  to  increase  the  strength  of  (an  electric  signal)  :  to  make  (something,  such  as  a  musical  instrument)  louder  by  increasing  the  strength  of  electric  signals  :  to  give  more  informaFon  about  (something,  such  as  a  statement)  :  to  speak  or  write  about  (something)  in  a  more  complete  way”  (Merriam-­‐Webster)    •  By  helping  young,  housing-­‐insecure  writers  access  publicaEon,  I  

hope  to  provide  a  more  complete  published  perspecEve,  give  more  informaFon  to  those  who  read  these  writers’  work,  and  expand  the  perspecEves  of  reader,  writer,  and  publisher  alike.  

INSIDE  THIS  ISSUE  

•  What  are  Street  Newspapers?  The  Inside  Look  

•  Amplify:  A  Brief  History  

•  Between  the  (Head)lines:  Designing  a  WriEng  and  Publishing  Curriculum  

•  Hot  Off  the  Press:  PerspecEves  on  Peer  Mentoring  

•  COVER  STORY:  “Teacher  Engagement,”  Jasmine  B.  

•  What  are  “street  newspapers”?  -­‐  publicaEons  that  “primarily  address  issues  related  to  homelessness  and  are  distributed  by  poor  or  homeless  vendors”  (NASNA)  

•  -­‐  allow  vendors  to  collect  income  and  build  sales  experience  

•  -­‐  highlight  the  perspecEves  of  poor  or  homeless  individuals;  remove  sEgma  of  homelessness  

STORIES  FROM  THE  STREETS  

HUMAN  INTEREST  

•  Interested  in  pursuing  wriEng  and  journalism  

•  Non-­‐tradiEonal  avenues  of  publicaEon:  h^ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-­‐nnb9iImlA&list=UUgAaywuYQx89wTU-­‐a4EFAIQ&index=12  (apologies  for  the  bad  ediEng  and  awkward  preteen  Francesca)  

•  Volunteer  writer/editor/staffer  at  GCN  (published  stories,  interviews,  forensics  speech)  

(UN)BALANCED  REPORTING  •  1.7  million  homeless  teens  in  

the  United  States  

•  Kicked  Out  anthology  allowed  homeless  LGBTQ+  youth  to  publish  stories  –  coordinated  in  part  by  KaEe  Doyle,  execuEve  director  of  Ozone  House  

•  I  am  the  only  high  school  writer  at  GCN.  Where  are  the  voices  of  homeless  youth?  

THE  MASTER  PLAN  

•  Mentor  young  writers  from  Ozone  House  in  the  creaEon  of  wri^en  work  (either  about  their  own  lives  or  topics  of  their  choosing)  and  art  

•  Compile  the  work  into  a  “teen  page”  for  the  July  issue  of  Groundcover  

•  Establish  a  link  between  the  two  organizaEons  to  allow  the  frequent  publicaEon  of  youth  perspecEves  

COVERING  THE  GROUNDWORK  

•  ConversaEons  with  KaEe  Doyle  and  caseworkers  led  me  to  connect  with  Jasmine  B.  (my  wriEng  partner)  

•  Original  plans:  meet  daily  at  aqer-­‐school  Drop-­‐In  with  three  to  five  writers.  Sessions  consist  of  creaEve  and  pracEcal  wriEng  exercises,  work  on  individual  pieces,  and  informaEonal  sessions  about  journalism/GCN.  

•  End  with  one  to  three  pages  of  material  for  July  GCN.  

REALITY  CHECK  

•  Q:  Will  it  be  possible  to  enlist  many  writers?  

•  A:  No.  

•  Q:  Will  daily  meeEngs  be  feasible?  

•  A:  No.  •  Q:  Will  lecture-­‐style  sessions  be  interesEng  or  producEve?  

•  A:  Probably  not.  

HOW  DO  WE  MOVE  FORWARD?  

CORRECTIONS  

•  Meet  with  one  writer  (Jasmine  B.)  approximately  once  a  week  and  reach  out  to  others  for  future  contact  

•  Goal:  write  and  edit  at  least  one  full  arEcle  for  July  Groundcover  issue    

AND  

•  SPECIAL  FEATURE:  design  a  full  eight-­‐lesson  curriculum  for  a  summer  wriEng  class,  to  be  adapted  and  taught  to  housing-­‐insecure  high  school  teens  

PUZZLES  How  can  I  be  flexible?    

How  can  I  ensure  collaboraEon,  rather  than  top-­‐down  teaching?    

How  can  I  balance  creaEve  exercises  and  pracEcal  work?    

How  can  I  challenge  my  assumpEons  and  abiliEes  as  a  writer,  editor,  and  educator?    

Solu8ons  on  p.  16    

ON  THE  AGENDA  

1.  Introduce  the  program,  establish  goals,  introduce  Groundcover/wriEng  styles,  brainstorm  arEcle  topics    

2.  Discuss  interview  process,  research,  generate  quesEons  

3.  Discuss  wriEng  process,  work  session,  begin  revision  

4.  Off-­‐campus  meeEng  for  content  gathering  

5.  Peer-­‐ediEng  pairs,  larger  group  discussion  about  significant  ediEng  issues,  work  Eme  6.  More  ediEng  exercises,  program  reflecEons  7.  Planning  for  the  (literary)  future,  layout,  process  sharing  and  discussion  8.  Ending  celebraEon,  final  reflecEons,  experiencing  publishing  and  distribuEon  at  Groundcover  office  

STYLE  SECTIONS  1.  Business  (progress  checks,  etc.)  2.  Planning  (making  contacts,  

sexng  deadlines)  3.  GeneraEon  (quesEons,  

informaEon,  ediEng  suggesEons)  4.  Expression  (wriEng  exercises  

and  spoken  acEviEes)  5.  InformaEon  (advising,  lecture-­‐

style  presentaEon)  6.  ReflecEon  (private  wriEng,  

audio-­‐  or  videotaped  interviews)  

FIRST  CONTACT  

1.  Informing  without  going  overboard  

2.  Allowing  writers  to  have  the  floor,  but  knowing  when  to  prompt  conversaEon  if  it  falters  

3.  Establishing  the  importance  of  quesEons  –  generaEng  the  important  quesEons  together  

4.  TreaEng  personal  details  with  sensiEvity  

EDITOR’S  NOTE(S)  

1.  Variety  of  acEviEes  on  the  same  topic  –  adjust  to  fit  the  writers  and  their  styles,  OR  use  mulEple  techniques  to  encourage  diversity  of  perspecEve  

 2.  AdjusEng  for  progress  

3.  Staying  on  track  without  gexng  overwhelmed  

4.  Preserving  the  individual  voice  

5.  Staying  posiEve  (forensics!)  

COMMUNITY  FOCUS  

1.  ArEcle  speed  daEng  •  Stricter  format  –  how  much  creaEvity  will  result?  •  Force  writers  to  think  about  their  own  pieces  and  why  

their  wriEng  ma^ers  •  Encouraging  posiEvity  while  allowing  free  discussion  

2.  Mock  interviews  and  quesEon  generaEon  •  Underlying  quesEons  are  essenEal  •  How  do  I  ensure  that  I  am  asking  quesEons  rather  than  

giving  orders?  •  Which  quesEons  are  effecEve?  

VIEWS  AND  VOICES  

1.  WriEng  exercises:  pracEcal  (focused)  or  abstract?              -­‐  “It’s  gexng  easier  to  get  the  words  out  of  my  head.”  -­‐Jasmine  

ABOUT  THE  AUTHOR  

Jasmine  B.    

•  Junior  at  Pioneer  •  17  years  old  •  Wants  to  study  social  work  

or  psychology  (probably  at  U-­‐M)  

•  Ozone  House  resident  for  three  years  

•  Case  manager  encouraged  her  to  join  program  

“  I  thought  this  would  be  a  fun  opportunity  to  learn  about  the  wri8ng  process  and  get  my  ideas  out  there.”  

IN  CONVERSATION  

•  MeeEngs  at  the  downtown  library  (1-­‐2  hours  each)  •  Hard  to  schedule  (AP  season,  “I’m  notorious  for  

double-­‐booking  myself”)  •  A  li^le  awkward  at  first  –  conversaEon  eventually  

came  when  we  started  wriEng  exercises  •  Learning  to  change  course  –  some  exercises  didn’t  

work  •  Planning  pieces:  opinion,  art,  feature  •  Process  work    •  Advising  and  suggesEons  

SOUNDING  BOARD  

•  Allowing  change  in  the  agenda  •  Encouraging  conversaEon  while  staying  on  track  •  Planning  for  future  work  •  Limited  Eme  –  what  can  we  prioriEze?  

“I  like  the  balance.  We  talk  about  our  work,  but  the  wriEng  exercises  have  also  helped  a  lot.  They  help  me  come  up  with  more  ideas,  or  get  my  current  ideas  out  on  the  page,  which  is  good  pracEce  in  a  way.”    

Interested  in  doing  more  –  friend  has  expressed  interest  as  well!  

SPECIAL  FEATURE  

•  Jasmine’s  piece:  based  on  a  speech  she  gave  to  the  AAPS  school  board  this  winter,  which  inspired  Toya  (her  case  manager)  to  recommend  my  program  

•  Based  on  her  experience:  “My  grades  dropped  from  A’s  to  D’s.  If  just  one  of  my  teachers  had  asked  what  was  going  on  or  tried  to  help  me  catch  up,  it  would  have  made  all  the  difference.”  

•  EdiEng  work  –  what  have  we  done  so  far?  What’s  next  on  the  agenda?  

COMING  SOON  

•  More  ediEng/revision  for  publicaEon  in  GCN  

•  Further  projects:  creaEve  piece,  photo  essay  on  “the  real  face  of  homelessness”  (similar  to  HONY  style)  

 

•  ImplemenEng  program  (in  A2  or  San  Jose/Oakland)  

PARTING  THOUGHTS  

1.  Changing  the  volume  2.  QuesEons  ma^er  3.  Respond  to  what  you  hear  4.  ConEnue  the  conversaEon,  but  know  how  to  steer  

it  back  to  the  topic  5.  Don’t  ask  leading  quesEons  6.  Put  love  into  your  plans,  but  don’t  get  a^ached  7.  Fight  for  individual  voices  8.  WriFng  is  a  mutual  process  

CONTRIBUTORS  1.  Mark  Randolph,  Kelly  Williams,  and  the  English  teachers  who  

have  taught  me  to  cherish  reading  and  being  read  2.  Barbara  Ebeling,  for  guiding  me  to  my  own  voice  and  helping  

me  fall  in  love  with  communicaEon  3.  Susan  Becke^,  for  being  my  most  fearless  role  model  and  

pushing  every  day  for  greater  knowledge  and  jusEce  4.  Jasmine  Birdsong,  for  her  talent  and  her  tenacity  5.  Adam  Plunke^,  for  the  email  that  saved  this  project  6.  KaEe  Doyle,  for  providing  a  safe  space  and  sounding  board  for  

Ann  Arbor’s  housing-­‐insecure  youth  7.  The  teachers,  friends,  family,  and  mentors  of  all  varieEes  who  

have  inspired  and  encouraged  my  work,  my  words,  and  my  weirdness.  You  are  more  to  me  than  I  can  express,  now/ever.