Writing Camp WOWs Kids, Parents
Parents have raved over The Writing Intervention, a two-week camp teaching teens core writing and presentation skills. The series of camps started in July and will wrap up its holiday offerings with a final camp from August 20- 30 at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, Newbold Street, St Clair.
“One mom was sure her teen would not want to come to an academic camp that runs from 9 am- 4 pm every day during the holidays. To her surprise he was an enthusiastic convert and really enjoyed the experience while he learned valuable writing skills,” said Lisa Allen-Agostini, a writer and editor who is one of the camp’s founders and facilitators. She credits the camp’s philosophy of holistic learning. The campers dance with choreographer Sonja Dumas, do improv and play games throughout the two weeks even as they gain tools to do summaries, write argumentative essays and craft oral presentations.
“It has been gratifying, really so heart-warming, to hear from parents about the differences the workshop has made in their kids,” said co-founder and facilitator Dr Danielle Elliott, an independent cultural studies scholar. “We’ve heard everything from an increase in confidence and increased engagement in conversation to a proud mom who was tickled by her son casually showing off his broadened vocabulary. Students have showed surprise and delight, too, in finding that they could now catch a few of their own writing errors in time to correct them themselves.”
The camp syllabus covers English language basics before tackling the essay, short story writing and summary. Campers spend two weeks developing an oral presentation and learning presentation skills; so far they have made presentations on abortion, the value of video games, their favourite cars, men in modern dance, and many other topics of interest to them. With an emphasis on individual attention and small group learning The Writing Intervention tailors its teaching to the needs of each student.
“One of my favourite points to note by the second week of each camp has been the way students who entered as very tentative writers — some almost apologetic or anxious about their phrasings — were bolder in their expression, even experimenting with different types of sentence structure, vocabulary, and punctuation.”
Thanks to the generous support of partners including First Citizens Bank, the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, DocuCentre, the Port Employees Credit Union and others, The Writing Intervention is able to offer full and partial scholarships to some students. Space is limited and parents are encouraged to register for the August 20 camp now.
Find more information on The Writing Intervention on its Facebook page or contact WhatsApp 646 505 7872 or 868 753 6220.
Content courtesy: The Writing Intervention.
