Text and Hubris

So I have a bit of a confession to make. For all the fantastic literature I have read in my time, I still have a special place in my heart for those old choose-your-own-adventure style books. That’s right! I loved those crazy, stilted stories that paused at random points to give the reader a choice between two similarly misguided options that only slightly make sense in the larger scheme of the plot. As hokey as they were, these little books were more than mere stories. They were mazes of text. I would find one ending only to turn back to the previous “choice” page, carefully indexed by another finger until the very act of reading the book became a feat of manual dexterity. Eventually, I would find my way through all the twists and turns of the story until I knew every option by heart.

I have a reason for sharing this. The Iowa Youth Writing Project along with the generous support of Public Space One is transforming the whole concept of the choose-your-own-adventure novel into a performance workshop for children ages 8-11. You read that right. This is a performance workshop. This means that the kids will not only get to craft the script and the many choices available in the plot, they will also get a chance to perform that script for their friends and family in special culminating event. It almost makes me wish I was a kid again!

I wrote my first choose your own adventure story when I was in the fourth grade which is right in the sweet spot for the ages the IYWP is hoping to help. I remember that I even drew pictures, a practice I studiously avoided due to lack of talent, to help make the text more accessible. It was the first time I was proud of something of something I wrote. I can still remember the strange sense of trepidation I felt when I turned the paper in to the teacher. I still feel it today when I send in a piece to a potential publisher. Unfortunately, she didn’t like the piece nearly as much as I had hoped. She considered it “mere plagiarism” (It wasn’t and that little 4th grader in me still screams at the accusation!) and handed it back without a grade. I remember walking away in a hazy blur as the tears threatened to spill. I was devastated.

Luckily, I had a family there to help nurture my wounded creative spirit and my own stubborn nature to drive me forward. I am pleased to know that, for children in Iowa, that support runs even deeper. Not only can they turn to their family for support but they can also look to organizations like the Iowa Youth Writing Project and Public Space One to inspire and encourage their creativity and their confidence in their own vision and creation. If you have kids in the age range, go sign up! Otherwise, offer the IYWP your support in terms of a donation (all classes are priced as “pay what you can” so your donations help!) or through volunteering.

The choice, as you might have guessed, is yours!

*Note: The book from the image above can (and should) be bought here.

Friends of the Iowa Youth Writing Project

Organizational meeting for Iowa Youth Writing Project volunteers.

Date: Friday, September 23, 2011
Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Location: Meeting Room A
Group Name:

Iowa Youth Writing Project

Group Type:

Non-Profit Citizen’s Group

Contact Person: Dora Malech
Contact Address: PO Box 10156
City: Iowa City
State: IA
Zip: 52240
Contact Phone: 319-804-9979
Contact Email: dora@iywp.org

Second Contact Name: michelle@iywp.org
Second Contact Phone: 319-384-2814
Second Contact Email: michelle@iywp.org

This event is open to the public.

Linked from The Iowa City Public Library Event Calendar

Here’s a small hint: if you plan on cheating in a class that I took a few years ago, one in which the teacher was kind enough to want to use one of my responses as an example for future classes, make sure to delete my name from the example when you post it on the cheat site and offer cash. It’s a very sad, and very dead, giveaway.

That was my surprise this evening. I’m still not entirely sure what to do about it. As part of my job hunt process, I have been checking search engine results for a my name. Mostly, I am just curious as to what comes up and it’s always nice to know that my sites are the first sources of information about me. When this little cheat site (which will not be linked to or mentioned here) popped up, I was more than a bit surprised.

It took me a little bit to figure out what happened. Apparently, a bit of reading followed by writing three 150-300 word responses are outside the realm of some students. One sad individual decided to post the entire assignment to the site, examples included, and offered $12 for a word document that evening. It always good to know our student’s are learning.

I really have a problem with this type of cheating, particularly, in a college setting. You’re paying to be there. No one is making you go (If they are, then you flunking out is probably a solid option.). All that this type of cheating does is hurt the overall class. Forget all that “you’re cheating yourself” garbage. To be honest, I don’t care about the cheating student, at all. Anyone who is willing to buy their grade is pretty much beyond hope at this point in time, and maybe a few years in the real world is exactly what they need. I do care that a teacher has to waste time and energy on a nothing assignment. Time and energy that could be better spent on students who are trying and who want to, oh I don’t know, get something from the class.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a name just a random alias on the site. This just happened on March 28, so it is very recent. I think I will at least contact my former professor to let her know what is going on. I’m not sure there’s too much that can be done but at least she’ll be aware and that’s better than nothing. If anyone has suggestions, let me know. I would also like my name off the site, but that too seems to be a trick. I’ll update with anything else that may develop.

This weekend marked the kickoff of the Iowa Youth Writing Project’s Spring Program schedule. Kids from all across Iowa came to Iowa City to celebrate and explore their incredible creative potential. They came to write, direct, design and create and they did not disappoint. I was amazed, often humbled, at how brilliant their minds could be.

I had the distinct pleasure of helping set up for the Wish You Were Here program. This program which is run in conjunction with Museum of Natural History celebrates not only creativity and the arts, but Iowa’s natural history as well. The students get a chance to discover, learn and then apply that learning in creative projects. It culminates with a printed collection of postcards all designed and written by the children in the class. Each student will receive a copy of that collection to take home when the class is over. It’s a great program and we had an incredible response.

I admit I was concerned. Due to the overwhelming response, we had expanded our class size and I wasn’t sure how well things were going to go with the larger class. Let me be the first to say that my concern was completely unfounded. Courtney is an excellent teacher (this was my first real chance to see her teach and I was impressed). In addition, we had a large number of incredibly wonderful volunteers who were there to help with the class. It was amazing to see everyone step up and help and it made me proud because we were all there because we believe in encouraging creativity and writing in kids of all ages. These programs were free. They were completely supported by a volunteer staff of writers, students, professors, teachers, and professionals who saw a chance to help and who did.

This is the definition of community. It’s not something we get to see a lot and it was a nice change of pace. I’m proud to be a part of the Iowa Youth Writing Project. I’m proud of what we already accomplished and, honestly, I am incredibly excited about what comes next. More than that, though, I am proud of the people who made this happen. Those who volunteered their time and their resources. It was because of them these programs happened and these kids got to do something they don’t normally get to do. If you ask me, that is something worth celebrating.