Unit One

College Essay

        

        The most important life lessons I have ever been taught, I gained from children. Now I have worked in childcare since I was eleven. Things like the importance of patience, tolerance, curiosity, and living in the now are not lessons adults have given me. Adults only provide the words, while kids provide the entire experience.

Spending three weeks in the summer of 2020 working as a camp counselor amid a worldwide pandemic really emphasized the importance of patience. Hand sanitizer breaks, to forcing masks when mixing groups, to the normal counselor stress, was a lot to deal with. Halfway through my first week of counseling, we had lunch at the cabin. I reminded everyone to grab their water bottles, as it was a hotter day and we were heading up to our next activity. Predictably, one didn’t want to bring it, so I talked to him and we agreed it wouldn’t cause a problem, and we were on our happy way to art. The second day of our project, and suddenly I have a camper under the table, “You okay buddy?” “No. I’m thirsty and I don’t have any water with me.” Okay sure, maybe I should’ve just carried the water for him. But there we were, it was too late. “Bud, I can’t leave the group here and just go to get your water. We’re gonna have to wait until art is over.” The next thing I knew this kid was back in his seat, but his art project was not in one solid piece for much longer. Now with a crumpled project, and him back under the table, the art teacher prompted me to take him on a walk. As we walked to grab this water bottle, we had a talk about patience and how when we forget things, we cannot be mad at others. While he learned a lesson about patience, I realized patience in a new way as well. 

During my second counseling week, I was so nervous before Monday even came around. I was given a full group of fourth-graders. I had always believed I was best with kindergarten to second-grade kids. Now fourth grade doesn’t sound much older, but they sure behave and hold themselves differently. As campers get older, they start to lose sight of “camp magic,” which usually comes from the enthusiasm we feel towards everything as young kids. I always thought older kids would be so much more judging and harder to entertain. I entered Monday more worried than excited. Now when I say best, I mean this was my absolute BEST group I had all summer. These kids were so accepting, so open, and so kind to each other and myself. They wanted to explore and they would participate in every activity. The only thing these kids needed from me was my enthusiasm to push theirs further, my art supplies, a deck of cards, and my conversation starters. I ended the week as  “counselor of the week” with the biggest smile on my face. My campers cheered my name as we walked up to flag lowering on Friday and I was so sad to send them all home after. That was my favorite week of working with kids to this date. I will never forget that group of campers and the lessons they taught me; step out of your comfort zone and accept things as they come.

By stepping out of my comfort zone and discovering how important patience can really be, I feel as if kids have helped me grow up and learn more about the world and myself.

Freewrites

Based on Adiche's TED talk and June Jordan's piece, Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And The Future Life of Willie Jordan.

Respond to the following: After “coming to terms” with June Jordan’s essay, freewrite about how her piece complicates or reaffirms your understanding of literacy, language, power, persona, audience, genre, English, and writing courses, etc. As you write, work to connect Jordan's essay to one of the other texts we have encountered in class so far. 

After coming to terms with Nobody Mean More to Me Than You And The Future Life of Willie Jordan” by June Jordan, I feel I have formed a better understanding of how different cultures have individual versions of their language. The essay reminds me of how “literacy” is not a word of one single meaning, literacy can range from being able to read a beginner’s book to having literacy within certain groups to having a great and detailed vocabulary. Language was brought up in the essay in the way that many different groups that speak the same language develop and use modified versions of the same language, similar but personalized. The author of the essay did not appear to have an obvious persona and seemed to just be talking from a desperate to educate other perspectives. I realized the audience was just as simple as I would’ve thought, anyone who wanted to learn more about the origin of their Black English and why there is such a thing, or anyone interested in this development of different forms of English. My understanding of genre was reformed, as I had never processed that an essay is a common and professional genre to be used as essays are most commonly known for being used in school. My definition of English changed, as I was introduced to the form of English known as Black English. Many know and speak this version of English, but I only believed there was a generic and unchanged form of English. Additionally, I realized that writing courses have more flexibility than I thought they had. 

This piece by June Jordan appears to have many similarities to It’s Complicated by Danah Bold. This piece talks about how social media used to have a completely different normal than it does today. Social media changes constantly and each generation of social media users will redefine its importance and role in everyday life; and that is really brought up in Boyd’s piece. This related to June Jordan’s writing since both writing pieces start with one form of something, but since then it has evolved and developed even more. One being the flourishing and development of different versions of one single language, while one about the development and revolution of the uses and importance of social media within the internet.

Imaginative Writing

Chimamanda Adiche was walking her dog in her favorite park when Dan Melzer and June Jordan approached to compliment her fluffy friend. After exchanged hellos, they began to talk about a group of kids taking pictures of the pond within the park. 

Most people would simply laugh and make fun of their assumed phone addictions, but Melzer started, “It’s so strange that their main media for communicating and telling stories is over the internet, but everyone seems to have a preferred medium for sharing pieces and pictures.” 

“Yeah for sure! People seem to be good at taking things and adding their own twists and personalities,” added June Jordan. 

Chimamanda Adiche chimed in, “For real, people just see kids taking pictures and assume they’re useless phone addicts of children.” 

Continuing, Melzer added, “...the ability to read and compose in digital, visual, and oral modes is also critical to being a literate person in the twenty-first century(Melzer 3).” 

“And it’s so normal now! It just took the usage of technology a little while and it’s totally normalized. We really found a way to twist what “literacy” and what it even means to be creating art,” Jordan replied. They sat for a second and realized that they weren’t too different, as they often did post pictures to their social media, just maybe not as commonly as these kids did.

“I must quickly add that I too am just as guilty in the question of the single-story(Adiche 8:12),” said Adiche.     

        “I like how people have the ability to create articles, blogs, video blogs, photo diaries, or anything they please and it can all be viewed and appreciated by so many people now!” Jordan exclaimed.