Delivering POW! To Ubuntu Academy Students: All Smiles

On my way to campus yesterday, I stopped by Bassick High School to visit Mr. King's classroom and to shout out to the young people who were part of conversations last semester with my Philosophy of Education course. We didn't meet much between the schools, but enough to make impacts in both locations. I delivered the art project, too, that the undergraduates puzzled together.

In my bag, however, were 25 copies of POW! Power of Words, in which several students published their summer writing. Lambert (pictured left) saw his name in print and said, "Really? This is my writing? This book is for me? Oh, my God! I am going to read this cover to cover." I hope his happiness can be detected on the face.

Last summer, the students worked with teachers in the Invitational Leadership Institute in collaboration with Fairfield University Art Museum and artist Rick Shaefer. Many of the young people (and teachers) were inspired by the artwork and wrote pieces that were submitted to the anthology. Lambert was one of the 198 students and 15 teachers who participated in the summer writing programs.

Mr. King also reported that he uses last year's anthology as a textbook for his beginning English language learners, and they read the writing of Little Lab, Big Imaginations, College Essays, novels, and poetry as classroom models.

POW! BOOM! WUSAH!

It makes me proud.

I am carrying with me today (and my Amtrak trip to DC, the happiness that Lambert shared when receiving his copy). If only it was this easy all the time to support the reading, writing, and thinking of all our students.