In June, we asked ninth graders at Duke Ellington School for the Arts what they believe. Here’s what they told us: That you can learn a lot more from Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law than you ever wanted to know; that the pen is not always mightier than the sword; and that personal successes can far outweigh public ones.
We learned those and many more bits of wisdom throughout the five weeks of our “This I Believe” workshop with Ms. Foster’s journalism class at Ellington. Led by volunteer Cathy Smith, it focused on the possibilities of the personal essay, and was patterned after the famous NPR radio series (which, sadly, went off the air last year).
The workshop culminated in a few students having the opportunity to record their finished essays, such as Madison Hartke-Weber, whose essay “Friendships, Destiny, and Dependence”—subject matter: self-explanatory—you can listen to below.
"Friendships, Destiny & Dependence" by Madison Hartke-Weber by 826DC
Big, big thanks to Madison (also a recent winner of the ArenaStage Student Playwrights Project), Ms. Foster, sound technician Billy Hickey, Cathy Smith, our participating volunteers and the rest of the students who helped close the school year with this fun, enlightening project.