826 Michigan

826 Michigan Ann Arbor has become my new favorite place in the world and I am only a volunteer. It is a writing/tutor center that provides many services to students for all levels of advancement. I only wish that I knew about this place or these services were provided to me as a young'in. During the day this center helps students within their schools with on site classroom help, in the afternoon they provide tutoring in all subjects at their store and in the evening/weekend there is often a fundraiser or workshop. So far, I've participated in helping with their field trip-where the class visits the writing center and also one of their workshops entitled "Famous Women Writers and You."

The experience that 826 Michigan gives these classes when they visit on a field trip cannot be duplicated elsewhere. Roles have been created for everyone to play before the children get there. There is a storyteller, illustrator, typist, and most of all...Dr. Blotch who is the boss in charge of approving everyone's stories so everyone can keep their job. The children start by collaboratively writing a story as the storyteller guides them along..until Dr. Blotch interrupts (through skype...so none of the kids actually know what Dr. Blotch looks like or where Dr. Blotch is located) and Dr. Blotch demands stories from each child. So, all the kids break up and write a different ending to the story they started together. At the end, much to everyone's doubt Dr. Blotch approves all the stories and each child has a binded version of their book to take home. It was something that I found myself getting lost in and I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

The workshop "Famous Women Writers and You" was a little more serious. There were more facilitators at the workshop than there was actual students taking the workshop, but the students were older teenage girls and so we could all relate with each other. The workshop was run by a student from U of M named Amy who majored in women studies and literature. We read and discussed six different women writers. Some of the more interesting discussion questions bordered on why many of their books had been band? and What they all had in common? I learned about an essay written by Virginia Wolfe entitled "Shakespeare's Sister" which concludes that for every famous male writer there is a less credited female writer parallel them. At the end of the workshop, we all wrote and some of us shared our writing. Seeing at least ten aspiring women writers together at a table reading what they had just written to each other was the perfect wrap up to such a workshop.

I look forward to participating in future workshops at 826 Michigan in Ann Arbor. :)