Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, my experience in school was always about memorization, standardization and assessment. This seems to be the consensus experience among other young people I have spoken with. While this issue has been improved upon in recent years at certain schools in certain areas, it still seems to be a prevailing attitude within educational institutions and in educational policy. This pedagogical culture cultivated a very specific set of academic skills during my journey through primary and middle school. Other skills, modes of problem-solving and forms of expression were often neglected or even actively discouraged. Creativity is one of those attributes that I had to tend to and hone outside of the classroom. Generally, imagination or expression outside of specific assignment expectations was treated punitively, seen as a distraction at best. For nearly my entire academic career I’ve been reprimanded for doodling or writing off-topic.
I used writing to explore my identity, my philosophical and spiritual beliefs, to make sense of my place in this world, to heal from trauma and to gain confidence in myself as a communicator and performer.
I am privileged to have had access to many creativity oriented extra-curricular spaces to supplement my in-school activities. My grandfather and uncle were both visual artists and so the arts were always emphasized and well respected in my family. I grew up drawing pictures and acting out make-believe scenarios. However, it wasn’t until I was selected to participate in a local high-school student’s senior project that I discovered the world of expressive writing. A few other 3rd graders and I were to meet at the high school every week for a poetry workshop facilitated by the senior. While I had loved to come up with fantastical stories, the act of actually writing opened me up in a way that was brand new and exciting. Not only was I able to express myself creatively, but I was able to transfer what I was learning about writing poetry to several other aspects of my life. I learned how to identify and speak about my emotions without as much discomfort. I learned how to express ideas in unorthodox and interesting ways. Most importantly, however, I was given the space to not only explore my own feelings and ideas but to share those ideas with a community and mentor figure who discussed and encouraged them. This was the first time my creativity was encouraged in an academic context and that I was able to build confidence in my own original ideas. This single experience would go on to change the trajectory of my entire life.
Once I got to high school, I joined my school’s poetry club and competed in Louder Than a Bomb, a youth spoken-word poetry competition in Chicago. I found a supportive community of writers and performers who encouraged me to keep going, to keep writing, to keep expressing. I used writing to explore my identity, my philosophical and spiritual beliefs, to make sense of my place in this world, to heal from trauma and to gain confidence in myself as a communicator and performer. I went on to major in creative writing in college, where I continued finding community, mentorship and encouragement. It was because I had developed confidence in my ideas and my ability to communicate that I got involved in activism and community organizing while I was in college. It was because of my experience writing that I learned how to stand up for what I believe in, to educate others, to spend hours upon hours reading and doing research. Now that I’ve graduated, Future Leaders in Action has provided similar support to me and has helped me channel my writing and outreach background into the social sector. FLIA has helped me gain confidence in my ability to exist as myself in the “professional” world.
I’m laying all this out to drive home just how lucky I am to have had access to creative opportunity and community, especially as a mixed-race trans woman who grew up low-income. Had I just stuck with school or sports, I would not be the person I am today, I would not have the skills or the views that I have today. Period. Most students, especially students with otherized identities or from low-income backgrounds, simply do not have access to those same opportunities. Through FLIA however, I am in a position to help provide that writing community and support to students like myself. My fellowship with 826CHI has opened my eyes to an entire world of alternative educational spaces and models.
Chicago is a city plagued with an underfunded, understaffed, under-resourced public education system, but Chicago is also a city with rich and deep cultural and political roots. As I am writing this post, Chicago Public School teachers and staff are on strike. CPS has been completely shut down for a few days. Educators are tapping into a tradition of activism and social justice, which is evidenced in their manifesto and in their specific demands. The striking teachers and staff are advocating for affordable housing options, as well as more social workers, counselors, librarians and nurses in the most neglected schools. This political moment comes at the tail end of a decade of school closures, which almost exclusively affected Black, Brown and low-income communities and students. Currently, the remaining neighborhood schools which are most egregiously underfunded (once again Black, Brown and low-income) are forced to accommodate unmanageable class sizes with minimal support or access to resources. Nurses, librarians, counselors and social workers are often only able to come once or twice a week. And even when support staff is present, they are often overloaded and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of students they are responsible for. In these schools, students rarely have the luxury of extra help, individual attention or creative encouragement. And yet, in spite of extremely challenging conditions, CPS has been making strides in arts education and programming.
Studies have linked expressive writing to improved mood, well-being, and reduced stress levels for those who do it regularly (Ciotti). These effects have been shown to hold across cultures, age groups, and diverse samples. Additionally, writing has been shown to facilitate the process of processing and healing from trauma (Stuckey)
Since 2012, the number of schools identified in the annual State of the Arts in Chicago Public School report as Strong or Excelling art programs has increased 64% (Ingenuity). However, this improvement and growth is not uniform across mediums and disciplines. In fact, only about 5% of CPS arts partnerships are focussed on creative or expressive writing programming (as opposed to 41% music education, 34% visual arts, 31% theater etc). So even though there are positive arts trends in Chicago public education, very few of these gains pertain to creative writing (Ingenuity).
I have the privilege of working at one of those few creative writing partner organizations and in my time working here thus far, I have gotten to witness brilliance. 826CHI gives students a space where the rigid boundaries of traditional education don’t apply, a space that allows them to truly explore their own ideas and imaginations. Students can organically express themselves in an environment where even their most eccentric and wacky ideas won’t be shot down, but will be encouraged. They work in small groups or one-on-one with tutors. Even large classes are broken down into tables where tutors can give groups of students focused attention. Here, student work isn’t subjected to quantitative assessment. Students don’t have to worry about proper spelling or language barriers because the space leaves room for diverse modes of expression and meets students where they are at. They write about what they want to write about.
Too often, writing is treated like a singular subject, as opposed to a general skill that affects success in all other academic (and many many non-academic) pursuits. Studies have linked expressive writing to improved mood, well-being, and reduced stress levels for those who do it regularly (Ciotti). These effects have been shown to hold across cultures, age groups, and diverse samples. Additionally, writing has been shown to facilitate the process of processing and healing from trauma (Stuckey). From emotional intelligence to the hard sciences, creative writing specifically, has been shown to help people communicate highly complex ideas more effectively in general. It also helps students develop more dynamic and versatile problem-solving skills (Ciotti). In order to generate new and original writing, students are forced to think abstractly, specifically, and to combine ideas that would not usually go together. Students who write regularly are more in touch with their emotions and pay attention to thoughts and feelings that most students are taught to filter out or ignore through the day. This becomes especially important for students of otherized identities to explore their positionalities and express their experiences. Writing is also especially important for students who aren’t confident in their academic abilities or communication and social skills. Learning how to express ideas with confidence and comfort helps students in every other aspect of their lives.
Alternative pedagogical models that focus on students as whole people, that encourage reflection and creativity are necessary as culture and technology are changing the role of education and academia. We need to do away with the myth that “poets are born, not made”, we need to demystify creative writing and begin treating it as an essential skill for life in general. For more information about 826CHI feel free to visit 826chi.org, if you would like to help fund my project with 826CHI you can donate at this link, for more information about the CPS teacher and staff strike, here is an informative article.
Works Cited
Ciotti, Gregory. “The Psychological Benefits of Writing.” Help Scout, 20 Apr. 2016, www.helpscout.com/blog/benefits-of-writing/.
“Ingenuity State Of the Arts in Chicago Public Schools - 2017-2018.” Issuu, 2018, issuu.com/ingenuity-inc/docs/ing_stateofthearts_2017-18_final_3e08a39a0b25d1?e=32080880%2F69837626&mc_cid=a080806837&mc_eid=a6c6f7dd7d.
Karp, Sarah. “Chicago Teachers Will Go On Strike, Capping Years Of Social Justice Activism.” NPR, NPR, 17 Oct. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/10/16/770809022/chicago-teachers-will-go-on-strike-capping-years-of-social-justice-activism.
Stuckey, Heather L, and Jeremy Nobel. “The Connection between Art, Healing, and Public Health: a Review of Current Literature.” American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, Feb. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/.