Incorrigible, unruly youth harass the poor teacher: Shanya, Annie, Jen

March 12, 2008 – The writers of Granville High School cranked their stories into high gear today in a spirited two-hour meeting that kicked off the production phase of “Signals to the World: Tales from Granville High.
  This is a great group, and they are producing some great tales, to be published in book form this September.
  Each week, we talk and argue about what the point of these stories is, and why it’s important to make that clear. Each week, the stories, and the writers, evolve, it seems to me. I am lucky to know these people, and to be there. I am grateful to Granville Superintendent Dan Teplesky and the teacher of Granville High School for this opportunity (Izzy came too – Lenore rested her social self.) The Granville teachers did a great job of picking these writers, as each has a powerful story to share about their lives in Granville, N.Y, a town in the struggling Slate Belt of upstate New York.
   Shanya’s eyes blaze when she talks about the misperception and poor treatment of birds, and at her own determination to be true to herself, no matter what anybody else says. Annie has changed her story to show her having a lot of siblings has affected her own pursuit of identity, and brought her to things noone else in her family has done before. Jen’s story – one of courage and much determination – is changing to show how she confronted some nightmares in her life in part for her 3-year-old sister, who she wants to  know how to stick up for herself. Everyone in the class talked about the impact of animals in their lives, and almost everyone had the shared experience of feeling like an outcast at some point. These kid’s lives are not simple, and they all have a number of struggles to choose from.
  The more Ashley considers her family’s move to Granville from Vermont, the more she realizes it altered her life, and changed the way she reacts to other people. Rachel’s story about coming to Granville from Korea when she was very young has also evolved – it turns out that living in a small town is just as challenging as the immigrant experience. “There are no second chances in Granville,” she says. Cheyanne, a musician and writer (and illustrator) is writing a very powerful story about alienation, and the struggle of individuals to survive among groups.
 Crysta wrote a surprising, and quite heartfelt story about friendship, and about the pain of losing a friend, and the struggle to regain the relationship. Jacob asked for another six pages  to flesh out his very creative sci-fi story, a fictional look at life in high school. The writers will come to the farm in the Spring to check out the place, and their teacher, for themselves.
  The atmosphere in the class is changing by the week. The writers are more comfortable, verbal and are locking in on their stories, and I think this will be a compelling book. It will be published by Bedlam Farm Books, and Maria Heinrich, BFB Editor, came to the school to meet the group and hear more about their stories. She was as impressed as I have been.  I talked about what I felt was the importance of stories, how they are signals to the world (thus the title) about our lives and experiences, and said I believed writing was a very feasible way for people to do what they love: like write about dogs, basketball, or birds.
  I said I thought this was an almost universal experience among writers and artists, who learned to step outside of their lives and look in from the outside. Izzy was his dependable self, providing consolation and comfort, and then vanishing under a hair (see below). The time flashed by.

Ashley is writing about the impact of moving on people’s lives