Teresa Peneguy
Paprock, special to The Capital Times
Capital Times,
Lifestyle Section - Tuesday, January 1, 2002
“The book should be a ball of light in one’s
hand.”
-poet Ezra Pound
On the day the towers fell, the students at New York’s Audrey Cohen College – just blocks from “ground zero” – had been writing a book. They lost a student and an alumnus that day, and in grief they almost abandoned their project. But they chose to forge ahead and published “Resumes of History,” a collection of imagined resumes for public figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and William Shakespeare.
Their project caught the eye of Greg Hilbert of Glastonbury, Conn., a 25-year veteran of the education industry. He sent out an e-mail “blast” to dozens of colleagues. Michelle Green, of Madison, was one of the recipients of his e-mail.
Green had long been passionate about education; she had been trying to come up with an educational project that would capture the minds and hearts of children in a special way. When she received the Hilbert’s e-mail, she contacted him and they began to develop an idea: What if there was a program in which all students, kindergarten through college, would have an opportunity to write and publish a real book? What if those books could be made available in school libraries throughout the United States and the world?
“(Hilbert) knew my heart was in working with kids,” says Green. “He wanted to start right away to get grants and funding.” Green is now the executive director of the Greater American and International Student Writers’ Guilds, the non-profit organization that facilitates the publishing of student-produced books.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy, they named the project “The September 12 Initiative” because they wanted it to empower young people to put their thoughts, feelings, and fears about the event into writing to share with others.
But they didn’t stop there; the concept grew to include all topics. Since then, more than 40 K-12 schools and youth-centered non-profit organizations nationwide have participated, producing books like “Tracing our Roots,” “The Magical Camera,” and “To Be Me.” Fifty more books are underway.
The 6x9-inch books are published professionally and bound with four-color covers. Grants allow the schools to publish the books and get 25 copies for free.
In the Madison area, participating organizations include the Academic Centers for Excellence, James Wright Middle School, and the Boys and Girls Club in south Madison, all of which are producing poetry books under the direction of Fabu Mogaka.
In just a few months, the Guild has gained notoriety. New York Mayor Rudolph Guilliani expressed support early on. Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of the late president and executive director of People to People, is involved. Green will soon be meeting with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Lady Laura Bush, both of whom have asked how they can facilitate the program.
Green recently returned from a ceremony in New York City attended by many who support the effort, including the mayor’s official representative and New York City fire chief Daniel Nigro, who spoke admiringly of the program.
“Literacy has been shown to decrease war,” said Green, pointing out that other countries, including Iran, Jordan, and India, are becoming involved. “These students will read what other kids around the nation and the world have written, and they will feel empowered. They’ll find out their voices matter.”
Andrew, Green’s 7-year-old son, is her incentive. “Really, this is all about him,” she says, hoping that Andrew will grow up in a more peaceful world. “This will help children to look inside themselves to that place where they will always have that jewel,” she says. “Reading and writing can do that.”
For more information, visit http://www.education-world.com/e-publishing/Sept_12_Initiative.shtml or contact Green at mlgreen@chorus.net.
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