New Monuments—Proposals from Ms. Reynolds’ and Ms. Atkinson’s Classes at Ypsilanti Int'l Elem School

NEW MONUMENTS

A Proposal from

Ms. Reynolds’ and Ms. Atkinson’s 4th Grade Classes at Ypsilanti International Elementary School

FIRST EDITION 2021 PRINTED AND BOUND AT 826MICHIGAN

NEW MONUMENTS Memorials That Matter

826 National’s Commitment to Inclusion As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps of learning occur, we commit to inclusion: We will not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, immigration status, military service, or disability.

826michigan Staff Dr. Naimah Wade, Executive Director Judy Tipton, Development Director Catherine Calabro Cavin, Education Director Frances Martin, Operations Director Megan Gilson, Program Manager Ariel Kaplowitz-Hahn, Volunteer Engagement Associate Josi Evingas, Development Associate

Copyright © 2021 by 826michigan and Blotch Books.

All rights reserved by 826michigan, the many whims of Drs. T & G Blotch, and the authors.

The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826michigan. We believe in the power of youth voice and are thrilled that you picked up this book. No part of this book may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher, except for small excerpts for the purposes of review or scholarly study.

Many thanks to Ypsilanti International Elementary School and our volunteers for their participation in this field trip.

By purchasing this book, you are helping 826michigan continue to offer free student programs. For more information, please visit: 826michigan.org

Table of Contents New Monument Proposals A Monument to Animals......................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A Monument to Doctors and Scientists........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Monument to Cornelia Fort................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A Monument to George Floyd.................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Design Your Own Monument.................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 About 826michigan.. ....................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

A Monument to Animals

Group ONe

Animals deserve monuments because many animals produce food, water, and other resources. Animals cannot become endangered because we need them for the future.

Bumblebees are very important pollinators. Without them, food wouldn’t grow.

Pets like cats and dogs can be very comforting and be awesome friends to us humans, too! Pets can be playful and enjoy belly rubs. Animals are awesome and help us in so many different ways!

New Monuments | 1

A Monument to Doctors and Scientists

Group Two

Can you imagine a world with no coronavirus?

Doctors and scientists are working day and night to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Without them, the coronavirus will spread faster and we wouldn’t have as many places to go or have the option to hug our friends. The doctors are courageous.

Some of our family members have gotten the vaccine made by scientists and it helps us feel more safe. The vaccine helps us protect our elderly.

The monument could be a skyscraper with names and pictures of all the people who are working very very hard to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The building would be made of copper and iron with stone or gravel at the bottom.

2 | Ms. Reynolds’ and Ms. Atkinson’s Classes

A Monument to Cornelia Fort

Group Three

Do you know about Cornelia Fort?

Cornelia Fort is a famous female pilot who was the first to die in active duty during World War Two. She should have a monument to commemorate women first being allowed in combat service.

This monument should be a mural illustrating a black and white picture of her and a lot of female pilots. It is the size of a door.

She is standing on the side of two flags with the U.S. flag on the left and the Japanese Flag on the right. There will also be a stone plaque with a description of who was fighting against who.

She fought in World War Two and she is important because the United States would have been taken over by another country.

New Monuments | 3

A Monument to George Floyd

Group Four

George Floyd and others have experienced police harassment.

We want to live in a world that is not filled with trash on the floor and we want to make the world better with no more racism. Some white people should not be racist to Black people, Hispanic people and other people.

We want to see a statue that honors white people, Black people, and other helpers together. Some people can be picking up trash.

The statue can be made of iron on the outside and platinum on the inside so it won’t be destroyed easily. It will be George Floyd’s whole body. On the statue, it will say “Bring Us Together”. It will also have facts about him on a silver plaque.

You can learn more about him on TV, in articles, on YouTube.

4 | Ms. Reynolds’ and Ms. Atkinson’s Classes

Design Your Own Monument WHO or WHAT would you like to memorialize? _______________________________________________________________ Opening sentence to hook the reader’s attention: _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ What are some facts to support your proposal? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Share your feelings about why the proposed monument is important. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Describe your vision of the monument. Where would it be located? What does it look like? What is it made of ? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Conclusion to support your proposal: _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

New Monuments | 5

inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing.

Our programs provide an energizing creative outlet for students and meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members.

ONLINE LEARNING LAB For the 2020–21 school year, our programs will remain virtual. When is it safe to return to our in-person programs, we plan to continue to offer virtual program opportunities as well!

SCHOOLWORK SUPPORT The program formerly-known as tutoring has been given an updated name, but the same great foundations remain. We organize trained volunteer tutors to work with students one-on-one with their homework after school. Schoolwork Support is available for all subjects, for students ages 8–18.

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IN-SCHOOL PROJECTS Our trained volunteers go into local public schools every day to support teachers with their classroom writing assignments. Based on the teacher’s curriculum, assignments range from writing tales to crafting college essays to exploring poetry.

FIELD TRIPS Students come as a class to our writing lab to join a group of volunteers, interns, and staff in order to help solve a problem through writing—whether that is our editor Dr. Blotch’s insomnia, our looming story deadline, a mystery in need of solving, or one of the many others we encounter. Our field trips always end in a finished publication of original writing that students take home.

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WRITING IS

A way to figure things out by ourselves

We create a safe place to be ourselves and try new things We support the ways that writers work (like thinking, sketching, talking)

A way to help us connect to our world

We study the writing we want to do so we can try it We learn how to change our writing for genre, audience, and purpose

A way to help us learn who we are and who we will become

We work with a group of writers who help and support each other

A way for us to use our power to make changes and build a better world

www.826michigan.org

826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.

We need the support and the feedback from our community to ensure 826 is living up to these standards.

Through our inclusion statement, our internal diversity and inclusion group, cultural competency resources provided to staff and volunteers, and partnerships with other organizations, we are always working towards being a more inclusive and supportive organization.

We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.

As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.

The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start.

And 826 strives to do this in an environment free from discrimination and exclusion.

by Gerald Richards, CEO