Wow!  The semester comes to a close and I need to figure out how to construct a meaningful summary.  Here it goes. . .

I have learned a great deal about my place in the world through my internship with the CLC.    First and foremost, I have been granted a wonderful opportunity to develop as a facilitator of creative writing workshops and as an active participant in the process of helping at-risk youth find their voices through the acts of reading and writing.

Second, I have realized that there are more things to learn about the processes of a community literacy center than I could have ever imagined.  I am learning how to formulate salient questions,  approach research, and write grants.   It is daunting at times.

Third, the outcomes of my internship have been gratifying.  Three publications were published, three readings were held, three formal workshops were facilitated, and informal workshops filled the interim.  Funds were raised to  bring Suzi Q Smith to CSU and Turning Point and to send Turning Point kids to the Northern Colorado Writers Conference.  To support CLC efforts, I was able to form a student organization, REAL, that will continue into the 2008-2009 school year.   

Fourth, I am blessed to have been able to work with the talented staffs and directors at both he CLC and Tunring Point.

Finally, I have been permanently altered by every young person I have hadthe honor of working with at Turning Point.  Each teen has found a home in my heart.

Thanks all for a great year replete with  moments of wisdom, a few tears, many giggles,  reminders of the tenacity of the human spirit, and the joy of reading and writing and learning!

Take Care!

- Kathryn 

It's March!  How did that happen?

My time has been filled with an odd balance of actual work and hopeful planning. 

The work part has consisted of facilitating  Zine Projects at both the girls' and boys' Turning Point Houses.  Those evenings are the highlight of my weeks.  The experience is humbling, envigorating, frustrating, and full of learning opportunties.  The boys require a whole different sort of energy than the girls.  With the girls ,sometimes I feel like I have to be a mind reader; with the boys, I feel like sometimes I have to be a referee.  (So much for the construct of gender!) Most significantly, I have learned that to be an effective educator, I must be extremely flexible, always keep my sense of humor, and welcome the chance to think on my feet.

The planning part  has consisted of: 1) continuing to work on the Freedom  Writers Dream;  2) trying to raise funds to bring Rafael Casal to CSU & to Turning Point; and now, 3) trying to find sponsorship for sending some kids to the Northern Colorado Writers Conference.  I think I would like to plant a money tree in my backyard.  If anyone knows where to find those seeds, please let me know.  Immediately.

I feel like a total failure, but I think my research is going to end up being an annotated bibliography of all the amazing sources I have culled from this year.   The assessment piece I am interested in is still compelling; I just don't think I can pull it off.  This semester has been replete with personal surpises that have given me pause.  We just never can predict what's around the corner, can we?  I will weigh my options on the research piece over break.

Other than all the above, I am working on the CLC Handbook.  I already transferred the neccessary files from my home computer to a CD and delivered that to Janelle, and I put a notebook with all Fall 2007 TP materials in the CLC office.  I need to transfer  those lesson plans to a CD also.  This intership has made me hyper-aware of my lack of technological skills.  This is something I paln on correcting over the summer.

That's about it, folks.  Have a wonderful Sping Break!

It's been a little while since my last entry, but the time has been well spent.  For the entire month of December, I was busy with the Turning Point Reading at Alley Cat, getting the TP publication ready, and finalizing the EPYCS grants; the Campus Activities Grant; The Divison of Student Affairs Grant; and trying to get communication going with ASCSU.  For most of January, I focused on building new prompts and lesson plans for both the girls' and boys' workshops at TP.   And then, I pooped out.

Yep, I pooped out. Totally, completely, absolutely pooped out. I played hooky from my CLC office hours for about a month, until I could catch my breath, get the new workshops running smoothly (at least as smoothly as possible) , figure out my new classes, and re-energize.  In all honesty, for the first time in my return to school, my "get up and go, just got up and went!"   Across the board, I have had a rather lethargic start to my semester.  But I've decided, enough of that!  Life's too short to waste time not living, learning, and growing!  So . . . I'm back in the saddle, as of today, and I have tons to do!

Here's the short list:

• Contibute to the CLC handbook in  a meaningful way;
• Write an article for The Freestone;
• Sort through and make available all my documents (grants, lesson plans, etc) to the CLC dtabases;
• Complete the online IRB training;
• Create my annotated bibliography;
• Keep up with the authentic assessment / journal I have set up for the TP workshops;
• Continue giving my all to Turning Point; and
• Figure out how to handle the Freedom Writers Dream!

Speaking of Freedom Writers . . . we are in a bit of a flux right now.  I still am enthusiatic and believe the prospect of bringing the  program to fruition to be of great value, yet I am also extremely sensitve to the fiscal issues (as in a monsterous honorarium) that go along with this endeavor.  I trust that we at the CLC will meet and find a healthy resolution to all of our concerns.

In the process of trying to obtain funding for said project, I became very frustrated with my attempts communicate with ASCSU.  I did write a respectful, albeit pointed letter that outlined the sources of my concerns in an attempt to resurrect  what had become an ineffective dialogue, full of miscommunication and misunderstandings for all parties.  If Freedom Writers goes forward, (and even if it does not) I hope to mend any shaky walls .

That's about it.  I hope everyone takes care and that the semester brings only good things.

- Kathryn

Workshops at Turning Point continue to go well, with Emily and I splitting up every other week into a reading and writing group.  The girls who choose to stay and write also have a ton to say!  Last week, I had to redirect the dialogue because it was veering pretty quickly into a therapeutic realm, based on one girl questioning the lives of some of the other girls.  I clarified my role as writing workshop faciliator and invited the girls to write about their issues, and we could share by reading, and both were valuable tools in self-discovery, but reiterated that I was not qualified to help them work through psycholgical issues.  I also attended to the idea that we must not judge the writer.  It was a little tense, but a good learning experience for us all.

Fund raising continues, and I hope to have many done before the end of the sememster.  Camille and Deanna from PRAXIS have been extremely helpful and their guidance is inspiring.  I am working hard to get the Student Organization formed, finishing up the El Pomar Grants, and then  will jump in on everything else.

My PRAXIS Learning Circle is on December 5, 2007 and I need to create an agenda and questions for my participants.  I am nervous, but the folks who are coming are all good and kind, and will be forgiving if I am a little jittery.

I set up a skelton, eight week lesson plan for my workshops, but I am being flexible.  The needs of the group, or even the goofy-ness of the group on any particular night is helping to determine exactly what we do.  I am not just using prompts, but sneaking in a bit of  info about poets, their work, poetyr styles, etc.  The response has been great.  The girls really dug Whitman!  I now need to remember to write an entry about each nights successes or challenges.

I am not doing well with the research piece of my internship.  Between office hours, workshops, fund raising, classes, and family, I am swamped.  I plan to use my winter break to create my annotated bibliography, and get a good chunk of my research done. 

That's it!  Until next week . . . .

Take care, all!

Things are moving along!  I have actually started at Turning Point and the girls are wonderful. I am so grateful to Emily Silva for welcoming me so warmly and graciously into the group.  This Sunday we are all going to watch Freedom Writers to kick off the Zine Project!  Emily already has established a very nice, respectful relationship with the girls and I hope to follow in her footsteps.  We are going to alternate between having a writing group every week, and a reading group every other week.  I believe it will work out well.

I keep on keeping on with my Freedom Writers dream.  It will be interesting trying to raise the money - $15,000.00 - but I am going to give it the old college try.  I need to visit Todd Mitchell's  class and an NCTE meeting to get a student organization up and running, which in turn will provide an opportunity to access CSU monies otherwise not available.  Even if the funding falls through, using Freedom Writers ideas and methods in my lesson plans is very worthwhile, and is actually a touchstone for many of the kids.  The girls at Turning Point want to write a persuasive essay to help in the fund raising process.  Like I siad, they are a terrific group of girls.

I have also had nice and affirmative responses from the folks I've invited to join my learning circle for the PRAXIS grant.  That too, will be a new experience for me; I approach it with a wee bit of nervousness. 

Not much more to report.  I am throwing myself into trying to learn about the crazy grant writing process, which seems to be a mixture of art, formula, and plain old luck.  The best part of being an intern, for me, is the workshop experience.  There's nothing in the world that compares to reading and writing and exchanging ideas with kids!

Take care, all!

We were awarded a PRAXIS grant to help fund writing projects at Turning Point!  This should come in handy for publishing costs, celebrations, supplies, etc.  Because of some initial, mandatory training sessions for PRAXIS, I had to delay my start date at Turning Point until October 24.  I did, however, meet with Emily, and I am grateful for her warm, welcoming attitude and letting me fit into the program.  We will be dividing into reading and writing groups every other week, and, on the alternate weeks, we will facilitate the writing piece together. 

The dream continues . . . I am still working on bringing the Freedom Writers to Fort Collins.  It will all boil down to my ability to raise funds, which is something I am not practiced in.  I am a  couple of drafts into a fund raisng letter, and I am trying to figure out  the absolute latest date we can commit and cancel if funding were to  fall through.  It's complicated, and I want to be very careful with each step.

Other than all the above, I keep on reading and reformulating exactly what my research will entail, and putting together lesson plans.  I am still learning . . . 

Take Care, All!
 

This week, I did much of my work from at home, because I got hit with a nasty bug and spent three days in bed. I did manage to finish the PRAXIS grant application and get it turned in on time, thanks to my husband running a million errands for me.

On top of asking for funding for funds to continue expanding the Zine Project at Turning Point, I also included a proposal to bring The Freedom Writers and Erin Gruwell to Fort Collins.  I am currently in communication with Sue Ellen Alpizar from the Freedom Writers foundation, and we are discussing the possibilities, costs, etc.  If this comes to fruiton, it will require quite a bit of planning and fund rasising,, but I think it could be a very valuable event.  I envision some sort of celebration where the Turning Point writers could  read their work, in conjunction with the Freedom Writers presentation.  We shall see.

I am waiting to see if a PRAXIS grant is awarded to the Zine Project, before I set up an intial meeting date with Emily.  The workshops are currently meeting on Wednesday nights, which are also the nights designated for PRAXIS meetings.  It should all work out, even if the grant comes through; we will just need to be a little flexible.

Not much else to report. I am a bit behind on my research, but I will catch up this weekend.  I believe that the workshops I use for research purpose will be the ones that occur next semester, when I can participate from the very beginning and not arrive in the middle.

Take care, all!

I continue to communicate with Gwen Bell at Turning Point in order to pin down the specifics of the Zine project. It looks like I will be working with Emily, who was an intern for Tobi last year and has remained as a volunteer at Turning Point. That is a great thing. I believe having an experienced facilitator and a newbie (me) will help create a sustainable, continuing project at Turning Point. I am formulating lesson plans and trying to put together an intake and outtake survey for the workshop participants as an assessment tool. I will need to submit a Human Subject application to CSU.

I also attended a meeting to gather information for the PRAXIS grant,  and I am in the process of getting my application togther.  It is really forcing me to succinctly state my goals and ideas for my internship, what's at stake, and the best ways to help the kids.   I am investigating a few ideas to propose in the grant that I think might require more grant writing, and that may be an adventure in itself.  I'll keep you posted if some of my pipe dreams are possible!

Research continues to be intriguing and in some ways controversial; there is no real concensus out there about Zine projects, what they mean, and the ways they can function.  They truly seem to be a statment of individuality and particular group identities.  Some folks are not advocates of heavy Zine distribution or their implemetnation in a classroom setting. Others assert that if the marginalized Zine voices aren't made public, then then their purpose is compromised. Interseting, to say the least!

Take care, all! I'll blog at you some more next week!

I am diving into my research and finding that my focus may need to change a bit.  I found Tobi's wonderful article "The Zine Project: Innovation or Oxymoron?" which was in the March 2007 issue of English Journal and it really inspired me! 

So . . . what kind of changes do I see?I think that perhaps it would be beneficial to pull together a paper that serves as a survey of academic thinking and experimentation with Zines, and then looking at the assessement piece. The assessment needs to be of the program, and not of the actual, bit by bit, components of the writing. The whole Zine concept really expands the definition of literacy to include the very act of "speaking out" and not just implying any sort of specific, standardized knowledge. The whole thing is fascinating!

I met with Gwen Bell at Turning Point on Tuesday, and we are in the planning stages of format meeting time, etc. They run a tight ship over there, and I am anxious to begin! Of course,I will check with Tobi before anything "official"commences. In the meanwhile, I am starting to put togther lesson plans, goals, and I am going to apply for the PRAXIS grant. Other meetings have been more difiicult to organize. Rachel, from Americorps, has not returned my calls; I will have to go over to SLICE, ASAP, to see what's up.

A big thanks to Mandy for organizing the Speak Out! folder.  For the technologically impaired - like me - that is such a big help!

That's all, "til next week!  Take care, all!

This week, I am basically familarizing myself with the office and facing all my technological fears - I have to make friends with the computer.  For the most part, I am concentrating on learning everything I can about Zines and the best ways to lead a workshop at The Turning Point.  I have an appoinement with Gwen Bell on September 11th for an orientation at Turning Point and to discuss ideas.  I'm also going to take a jaunt to Denver (maybe this weekend!) and check out the Denver Zine Library; I'd like to bring some funky examples for the Turning Point writers, as soon as we start, and to stock the CLC office with a few more sample publications to spark creativity!

The CLC has some great books on writing, and I think I'm going to purchase some of them from Teachers & Writers and Amazon.com for my personal library at home.  The books on Zine production are chock-full of suggestions and inspiration.

I think that I will be using much of my office time to do research and create viable lesson plans, but I would like to chat with Tobi, Fabiola, and Janelle, to see if there is any specific "office work" they would like to see me do! 

It feels great to finally officially "start!" I'll blog with you again next week!

Greetings!

My name is Kathryn Hulings and I am a non-traditonal student pursuing an English in both the Creative Writing and Education Concentrations.  This first blog entry for my internship is sparse; I am in the process of acquanting myself with the CLC office, goals, and projects.

What I do know is that I am thrilled to be on board and I look forward to making a valuable contribution!