Even if I'm exhausted this summer...it's the work I love doing #connectedlearning #clmooc #makesummer @cwpfairfield

Dedicated to success and upward bound...

Yesterday, I met with several students on Fairfield University's campus who are part of Rony Delva's Upward Bound program. These are students from Bridgeport City School District who have committed to the hard work it takes to get into college. They are youth with a vision, a dream, and a desire to achieve. What I appreciated most about my time with is their devotion to learn. I admired similar students in the Upward Bound program where I worked  at LeMoyne College - I have tremendous faith in the work of TRIO programs for supporting youth. They bring excellence to their students that transcend school.

I spoke with these students about writing and the Young Writers' Institutes hosted on Fairfield's campus. Several of the students attended the Writing Our Lives-Bridgeport conference in May and the invitation stands for them to spend two weeks of their Upward Bound experience with us at CWP-Fairfield. Rony Delva and I met earlier this year to discuss our common goals and, together, we decided to partner ideas - including writing advocacy, discussion of Lost Boy, Lost Girl, countering the violence often experience by students in their communities, and partnering programs for "connected learning" that builds off the digital world into face-to-face reality. Through writing, living on campus, reading John Dau's text, participating in CWP workshops, and bringing forth expertise, I hope that the students of Upward Bound have an unforgettable experience with Rony Delva's program. They were a remarkable group and I learned this from watching them fly their crafted airplanes!

I had only a short time so I conducted a couple of team-building activities learned from my environmental work in Kentucky. No, I didn't have high ropes courses or beanbags, but I did have willing youth who proved to me that they could perform a group lap-sit and untangle human knots. Both were simple metaphors and experiences to demonstrate Ubuntu and what it takes to be an accomplished young person in the 21st century. Digital tools matter tremendously, but so do the social tools of working with peers, collaboration, teamwork, support, positive reinforcement, and trust for the dedicated adults who live their lives to advocate for young people.

I am looking forward to additional activities throughout the next month with Upward Bound as CWP connects learning across our campus in real time, brings students to our writing institutes, and begins to work with teachers in the ISI. More challenging, I think, will be getting John Dau to SKYPE with us while we are all learning together. But, the dreamer in me will try. Technology will help us to make this happen.

Here's to all of us!