Only One more @writingproject Week Left @cwpfairfield with Teachers and Students (for this summer). Wow! What an Incredible Yesterday

We have begun teacher demonstrations and to say that Alisha Vittora knocked it out of the park is an understatement. Not sure if anyone will ever find that ball! When she finished, I thought, "I imagine teachers in every state, at every school, could benefit from the workshop she led on food literacy and literature." She tied her culinary arts expertise with her writing/language arts background, and all of us were filling our notebooks (and stomachs). We also tasted foods from around the world in a purposeful, well-planned, inviting (yet scary) conversation of flavors, tastes, palettes, culture, traditions, and power structures. 

Note: Her Op Ed for the week did the same, challenging the European colonial way food critics and reviews work with what counts as cuisine. It was spectacular, and the writing she share. Unbelievable. I'll attach Trevor Noah's Taco skit as she used this marvelously to make a point. I'm also sharing a photo, too, I captured with Chelsea, because her face says it all (ironically, the flavor that knocked her for a loop is one I really liked)

Some of the foods we tasted were: Durian Thai Roiled Cookied, Drid Jujube, Youtiao, Salted Egg Yolk, Bawang Goreng, Joytofu Mutton Flavored Skewers, Rousong, Luo Han Guo, Arare Kuro Kosho, Black Sesame Soy Milk & Brown Sugar Boba. 

During writing workshop time, I also had the opportunity to do a walk and talk with Megan Ruppel, an educator fresh out of college in Westport, CT, who is exploring "Philosophies for Writing" as a middle school workshop. Reading the room (well, her personality - she brought the snake yesterday), I wondered if she wanted to talk through her workshop while I showed her our campus's Zen Garden. We did a walk-n-talk.

Whoa! They've repaired all the ponds, and I was impressed by the number of rabbits, butterflies, dragonflies, and FROGS. There were several species of frogs and of all sizes. I felt like I was communing with family. Perhaps it's because Covid came, the ecosystem was allowed to restore itself without undergrads abusing the area with what undergraduates to. Definitely a healthy habitat again.

Our read-around, too, was off-the-chart amazing. 10 educators sharing 10 pieces that, at least with the ears, are ready to be heard and shared with wider audiences. I was so impressed, especially with how everyone seemed to jump out of their comfort zones a LOT. Everyone took new approaches and came forward with stuff that even amazed them: POWERFUL writing.

Ribbit Ribbit. 

The one bad thing...we ditched the College Essay writers for their workshop time, simply because we lost track of our own. I have to make up for that today and will do so with Julie. 

Julie always says, when the cicadas sing, we know the summer is coming to a close. They're not too loud yet, but we can hear them. It will be next week, I imagine.

So, in the meant time, enjoy some Trevor Noah.