Visiting my freshman year! A page out of our Creative Writing Book!

Linda Hiers Dennis - Freshman Year - Columbia High School Writing Book
For me, I have passed 14-days of sheltering and other than the yellow stuff that makes me sneeze, and my sinuses to stop up, all is well here.  Just really miss the kiddos (even though Hankie facetimes with me, and I have now learned how to use the Emojis). Plus the girls are also around chatting about.  I do miss the backpack journalists, and keep sending out email updates and sharing the VIMEO channel.

The time has given me the chance to begin to prepare my move to a new apartment, and that said, go through my "stuff". It's been an interesting journey, and time consuming as I had to stop and look and read, and reminice.  Here goes:

Pictured here is a page out of my high school "Writing Yearbook" that brought back alot of memories. We used typewriters back then.  I am seated at the top left, in front of a typewriter - editing.  Our team all working also.  And, the outcome was a book published annually that contained
poetry, essays and short stories.

Columbia High School had a great English and creative writing teacher on staff, and I was most fortunate to have been in his class my freshman year.  I can still remember the fear I felt when he came to my homeroom and called me out to the hall to speak to me.  In his hand was a short piece I had written about a tree in my backyard. He pointed to several of the sentences, commenting:  "You should begin now to keep a journal, to write.  Doesn't matter the topic, just use your imagination as you have done here."

Recently, the Backpack Journalist classroom at Orange Grove Charter School had a visit from Bo Peterson, a reporter with the Post & Courier.  He shared writing advice with the 14 young people.  "Yes take good notes, and then use your imagination to write your article".  Topics again, any.

Reflecting back over his visit when I was a freshman in high school, I could feel Mr. Broome standing before our class with just about those same words.  I also remember an interview I had in Florida with a teacher who uses "Movies in the Mind" in her classroom, and again,  imagination was key to help her students write as well. Often many teachers call it "project-based learning" with a positive outcome.

Tonight at my walk at sundown, with the stars coming out,  with day coming to an end, I saw more clearly the nature that surrounds me, and the blooming azaleas that share the yellow stuff, that helps me sneeze.

I am certain now that  my first piece of creative writing must also speak to the trees I walked by, and that "this tree could have feelings of it's own, lifting its limbs to the sky".  Mr. Broome I hope you are well.



























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Before me under glass was the George Chicken Diary of 1715.  Normally this type of a rare find is kept in archival storage but for this special event:  Diaries & Drinks, several rooms had on display many historic diaries. The writing all cursive, and the prose when I could read, sounded "old English". Just like my Grandmother Mamie would have written, always so formal. Eliza Lucas Pinckney(1739-1762)  her letters now found in a book is shown here standing next to Cassique of the Kiawah's in an interactive exhibit.  Eliza is given credit for the development of "blue or indigo" and a manager of several plantations for her family.  Her letters are most interesting and tell the story of her life and those around her. I did purchase the book, and not sure on what shelf that is overflowing it will rest, when I am not reading it. Many say I have to many books.?  Cassique of the Kiawah's has long been a favorite historical hero of mine.  We have traveled m...
Read more
Image
  This book is our "Pay it forward" - an inspiration for teachers and parents and those who work with children/kids in the afterschool or camps.  We provide lesson plans and templates of easy use and reproduction. The first half of the book, we share how we served military kids all around the United States and then came home to Charleston, and had the help of Mayor Joe Riley to integrate into the Charleston Promise Neighborhood. During our time serving the inner city kids, we covered the city, and within the pages of this book and our video pages, we share alot about the historical values of Charleston.   Charleston RiverDogs are within the pages, along with Larry Doby Lesson Plan, and interview with Mike Veeck. New book (237 pages) is out on August 12.   "A Backpack Journalist"  - stories about youth impacted by the program, plus lesson plans and templates, and a review by *Dr. Fred Medway on the positive effects of this afterschool program and a mili...
Read more

The White Shirt

Image
  A White Shirt The Charleston wind blew through my porch the day that Stan Foxworthy came to take a photograph of me for the book.  First and foremost, I do not like to sit still for a period of time, and for a photograph.  I would have loved to have had kids with me, or reading, or anything but sitting still and smiling. The white shirt.   That morning Stan called and said “see you shortly”.  I had on a white shirt, and standing by, my black turtleneck and a bright pink jacket.  Stan, a master of light, took one look at my porch area, felt the wind blowing through and said – “perfect!”.  “Sit he said”.  And forgetting that I had on this white shirt, well, we started. So let me explain further.  There is an old southern saying that often as we age,  we the daughter, begin to look like our mothers and take on their visual habits – ie what they would often wear! . So there I am with a white shirt on, smiling, the wind blowing through -and...
Read more