The strongest prisons are built with walls of silence
-Janice Mirikitani

Hello Senior WALCers,
You might have perceived by now the pattern of this year and the design of our whole program. It is about looking inside ourselves, whether it is with the balance circle, anatomy, the concept of internalized oppression, or writing our personal statements. It is about discovering our connections to the earth and unmasking the systems that affect our lives whether it is with ecology, economics, or Bowling for Columbine. It is also about finding our voices through writing, discussions, debate, and activism. In your upcoming essay, we will be asking you to put all of this together on a personal level—to look within and see how we are, look without to discern the events, people, attitudes, values, and systems that have shaped us, and to articulate this through a coherent fifty page essay. Just kidding. Ten to fifteen. Today we will begin the process of creating this paper through poetry. We will help each other write, and tonight this first step will end in a poetry slam.

Lesson One: The forces that affect the true shape of the Earth

• Dances with Tides

Lesson Two: The forces that affect our true shapes

• History—Prisons of Silence by Janice Mirikitani (Discussion)
  
• Poetry Writing Workshop (We will split into three writing groups):
  
  1. Family—Suicide Note by Janice Mirikitani (Discussion)
     
  2. Brainstorm Session
     
     • Our true shapes: characteristics, values, dreams, self-image, actions, habits, and quirks.
       
     • Tracing the origins of our shapes 1: link characteristics to defining events, or little moments or things that add up.
       
     • Tracing the origins of our shapes 2: identify institutions, values, concepts that have shaped characteristics.
       
  3. Good Faith Gesture—teachers share own poems.
     
  4. Go off and write!
     
  5. Peer review/feedback
     
  6. Go off and revise!
     
  7. Share?

Break for lunch

Prose Writing Workshop (We will split into three new writing groups)

1. Friendships—Seventh Grade by Linda Barry (Discussion)
   
2. Brainstorm Session
   
   • Our true shapes: identify positive/negative relationships, relationships that endure/have ended
     
   • Tracing the origins of our shapes 1: Recall defining moment for relationship (setting, mood, what was said, how it happened, etc.
     
   • Tracing the origins of our shapes 2: Identify the forces that affected the relationship the most (peer pressure, culture, etc.)
     
3. Good Faith Gesture—teachers share own prose/experience
   
4. Go off and write!
   
5. Peer review/feedback
   
6. Go off and revise!
   
7. Share?
   

Break while teachers cook

Dinner. Yay!

Students Cleanup. Ha. Ha.

Lesson Three: Hear My Voice—Student Poetry/Prose