Capstone continued

So, on to the next step: Implementing Core. I can think of many ways that the idea to start an afterschool writing workshop would be pertinent to the classwork that I have done for Core, but the most closely related class would probably be Human Rights. In this class we had countless discussions and debates on the universal rights of all human beings. What I decided, after a semester of depressing, yet inspiring readings, films, and research, was that every human has the right to just be. I believe whole heartedly in the "live and let live" philosophy. Of course there are many obstacles standing in the way of this right, and one of those obstacles is the restraint of educational policy and funding. Education is essential to our being. Your innate "self" develops over time, as we learned in our freshman year course on Identity, and the development of your self depends on the community of which you are a part of, as we learned in our class on community.

I grew up in a small rural town in upstate NY. It was a wonderful place to grow up. I had a peaceful childhood filled with trees, fireflies, and an overall absense of anything fearful. But unfortunately, I did not take a single class on creative writing until I came to Champlain. I chose the major based on a life long gut feeling that my "hobby" of writing would always stick around. The only encouragement that I ever really received was from my fourth grade teacher, and then briefly from my senior teacher when we did a two week interval of poetry. That was all we really had time for. The school had to comply with regents regulations. The budget just wasn't enough to cover the implementation of more creativity, while also having enough left over to rebuild the football field.

There are low income schools all over the country, both in rural and urban areas, that are full of students who are craving a creative outlet. I think that it is important to personal development for children to be encouraged to take hold of their talents and be proud of what they can do with them. There are only certain talents that are nurtured in most schools, and this makes an impression on the youth. It is more impressive for a third grader to master the memorization of his times tables than it is for him to write a poem about flowers. This effects the view of the entire classroom, and can cause creative children to introvert in order to avoid scrutiny and maintain a sense of belonging. Artistic talents should not be viewed as futile to the future of a child. It is a human right, in my opinion, to be accepted as who you are, and to have the your talents appreciated.