While reading and writing about the book, "Life Is So Good," by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman, students and seniors embarked on a year-long reflection of Maya Angelou's poem, "Still, I Rise." We considered questions such as:
What makes a life "good?"
How can personal responses to adversity shape our lives, our communities, and even the world? Amy Biehl, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Lewis Hamilton, Greta Thunberg, Mamie Till, and George Dawson were a few of the lives and stories we investigated.
Is there value in recording our own instances of "rising?" How can appreciating where we come from impact where we are going?
How can we connect with senior citizens (in the spirit of George Dawson) of Woodstock and create reflections on living "good lives" with them?
Where I’m From has been a collaborative project with the Thompson Senior Center in Woodstock, VT, and students from Woodstock Union High School. It represents one thread of this year’s class theme, “Still I Rise” - an investigation into how decisions and choices made in the face of adversity can impact our own lives, the lives of others, and even the course of history. From Mamie Till and Amy Biehl to Greta Thunberg. From Lewis Hamilton and George Dawson to Nelson Mandela - how do our personal, seemingly small choices accumulate to shape our world? What power do we have in our own everyday lives to build a better future?
One quiet, everyday choice we have is to simply share our time and good will with others. We are sincerely grateful to Pam Butler at the Thompson Center for helping us coordinate this project. We began with the simple goal of bringing teenagers and seniors together. Over the course of the year, our first awkward introductions slowly gave way to hugs and invitations, read-alouds, authentic living-room conversations, thank you notes, and pictures of great-grandchildren. “This is going to be … bad,” gave way to, “How long do we have to wait to see them again?”
A very special thank you to Alan, Carol, and Jane. You listened to our stories, shared your wisdom, practiced writing with us, and showed up again and again to forge new friendships with young people. Thank you! Alan’s quote from our last meeting will stay with us for a long time - it exemplifies our central pursuit as students, teachers, and citizens: