6 minute read
About 826michigan
About the Program
This book contains writing from 826michigan’s New Monuments virtual field trip program. During this program, students explore what a monument is and can be, dreaming up new possibilities for local ways to honor heroes and specialties, from the playful (coney dogs and magical creatures) to the serious (activists and abolitionists). In collaboration with 826michigan volunteers, students envision and draw these new possibilities, and then write about why they think their new monuments should be built. This project is based on the work by student writers at our sister chapter 826 New Orleans and their publication Courageous, Eccentric, Diverse: New Monuments for New Orleans.
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A monument to Family
Group 1
Our families love us! They keep us safe, and we love them back. They look out for us and care for us. They grind for us so that we can have good lives; they put a roof over our heads! They show their love for us in a lot of different ways. For example, if we get in trouble, they’re always there to help. They take us to school so that we can focus on our education, get good grades, and get a good job! They teach us the importance of hard work, compassion, and remain loyal to us. Our monument will be a big metal statue! The size of the Statue of Liberty. No. BIGGER! It looks like somebody’s fingers forming the shape of a big heart.
Group 2
Families are kind and come in different colors. They always take care of each other, especially the grannies in our families. Our families tell us to be nice to others or just walk away. Just like MLK, our families tell us to love everybody and listen to teachers. They also tell us to spend time to get to know each other. And our families make us feel safe.
Our monument will be black, small, and show many people.
Group 3
Monuments are important and so are animals. Animals and pets are important because we can take care of them and that is special. Animals are also beautiful, like iguanas that have different colors.
Our monument could have a lot of animals including dogs, cats, iguanas, snow foxes. It would be super colorful.
Design Your Own Monument
WHO or WHAT would you like to memorialize?
Design Your Own Monument
WHO or WHAT would you like to memorialize?
inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities. Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing. Our programs provide an energizing creative outlet for students and meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members.
ONLINE LEARNING LAB
For the 2021–22 school year, our programs will remain virtual. When is it safe to return to our in-person programs, we plan to continue to offer virtual program opportunities as well!
SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT
The program formerly-known as tutoring has been given an updated name, but the same great foundations remain. We organize trained volunteer tutors to work with students one-on-one with their homework after school. Schoolwork Support is available for all subjects, for students ages 8–18.
WORKSHOPS
We offer a number of free workshops taught by professional artists, writers, and our talented volunteers. From comic books to screenplays, bookmaking to radio, our wide variety of workshops are perfect for writers of all ages and interests. One of the most popular workshops we offer is our weekly Wee-bots program for elementaryaged writers.
IN-SCHOOL PROJECTS
Our trained volunteers go into local public schools every day to support teachers with their classroom writing assignments. Based on the teacher’s curriculum, assignments range from writing tales to crafting college essays to exploring poetry.
FIELD TRIPS
Students come as a class to our writing lab to join a group of volunteers, interns, and staff in order to help solve a problem through writing—whether that is our editor Dr. Blotch’s insomnia, our looming story deadline, a mystery in need of solving, or one of the many others we encounter. Our field trips always end in a finished publication of original writing that students take home.
OUR STORES
Our Robot Supply Co. stores are one-stop shops for robots, robot owners, and enthusiasts alike. They are designed to inspire creativity and bring awareness of our programs to the community. Please visit us online at onwardrobots.com. All proceeds from our stores directly fund our free student programming. Onward robots!
WRITING IS
A way to figure things out by ourselves
A way to help us connect to our world
A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become
A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking) We study the writing we want to do so we can try it We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose We work with a group of writers who help and support each other
www.826michigan.org
826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.
We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards. Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.
We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.
As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.
The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start. And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.
by Gerald Richards, CEO
