Public education is one of the most hotly debated topics in our cultural discourse. From what books should be taught to whether personal phones should be banned, everyone has a different opinion on how to reform our education system. One thing that most of us can agree on: We need to engage our students more.
That’s where Teachers and Writers Collaborative comes in. This nonprofit, currently led by writer and educator Asari Beale, is “one of the first writers-in-the-schools programs, with a 50+ year history of delivering innovative creative writing programs that increase access to the arts, build community, and amplify youth voices.”
“There are private schools where there’s a writer-in-residence, and… I would love to see that for all of the public schools in New York City,” Beale said. “When we go into a public school, we’re not able to be there all year round. I just think it would be amazing if we can have this really deep partnership with the school…
What that will do is help students build confidence around their abilities as communicators… to collaborate with each other, give them tools for processing, and we also know that is has outcomes that impact their other academic classes. When students are more engaged because they’re involved in an arts programs like ours, that means that they do better in all parts of their school life.”
Discover Asari’s vision for a more equitable future for all NYC students, and find out how you can support teachers and writers in this episode of Lunch with LitNYS.
Music Credit: Cold Brew by RA
Further Reading:
Teachers and Writers Magazine: https://teachersandwritersmagazine.org/
Articles about how reading fiction encourages empathy: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4733342/
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190523-does-reading-fiction-make-us-better-people
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