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West Hartford Teachers, Students Inspired by ‘Food for the Soul Train’

Hall students write poems based on one word during the 'Food for the Soul Train' activity. Submitted photo

Hall High School students, and faculty from both of West Hartford’s public high schools, learned about new ways and activities to inspire creativity from the originators of ‘Food for the Soul Train.’

Hall students write poems based on one word during the 'Food for the Soul Train'  activity. Submitted photo

Hall students write poems based on one word during the ‘Food for the Soul Train’ activity. Submitted photo

Submitted by Heather Gaunt, Hall High School English Teacher

On April 29, 2015, “Food for the Soul Train” creative collaborators Amy Tingle and Maya Stein shared some of their inspirational ideas and activities with students and faculty at Hall High School. “Food for the Soul Train” is a mobile creativity company based out of Nutley, New Jersey whose goal is to bring creative inspiration to communities everywhere.

Tingle and Stein offer art and writing classes across all age groups as well as across the country. They have tailored their programs to fit the needs and desires of their participants by offering not only within an educational setting, but also through e-courses, summer camps and retreats.

At Hall, 10th and 12th grade students had the opportunity to dive right in to creative exploration with Tingle and Stein. The women began their presentations by sharing their story of traveling across the country on a tandem bike, two typewriters in tow.

Food for the Soul Train presenters. Submitted photo

Food for the Soul Train presenters. Submitted photo

 

Dubbed the “Type Rider” project, Tingle and Stein would stop at various small towns during their journey and speak with the locals about nourishing creativity and then they would share poetry. They would ask individuals to offer them a word, and then, on the spot, they would each type an original poem which would be inspired by that particular word.

The women would then give their poems as “gifts” to the individual. These poems, they would explain, were in return for the “gift” of a word which each participant had shared with them.

The Hall students were then graced with the opportunity to experience their own magical gift giving of words. In each class, a student would voluntarily offer one word, and Tingle and Stein, along with English teacher Heather Gaunt, would sit down to type and create three independently unique poems based on the same given word.

Food for the Soul Train. Submitted photo

Food for the Soul Train. Submitted photo

 

The students watched, curiously and expectantly, eagerly awaiting the end product as they quietly chattered beneath the strikingly loud clacking of the typewriter keys. Minutes later, freshly inked poems were read aloud and “gifted” back to the word giver. The facial expressions of awe and emotion reflected the meaningfulness of the experience.

Next, it was the students’ turns to write. An artistically designed mini jar of ready-made prompts held a variety of single words. The women drew out one word, shared it with the class, and the students were off and running with their own imaginations and creativity.

Focused thinking and writing on index cards – to lessen the overwhelming feeling a blank page can sometimes create – led each of the students to formulate their own instant poems. Sharing these poems aloud at the end of the session brought forth wonder and magic as students began to hear the power and beauty of their own voices.

The spirit of creative collaboration permeating the rooms truly became “food for the soul.”

At the end of the school day, Tingle and Stein continued their creative inspiration with an interdisciplinary collaborative inquiry series group of teachers from both Hall and Conard.

After sharing their story, the women then introduced the group to the idea of “tiny books” of which the women had brought a large collection. The concept begins with their idea that “everyone is an expert at something.” Tingle and Stein led the teachers through the craft of creating actual miniature books, and then had them fill the books collaboratively with their own creative instructional ideas on how to be an expert at something, with topics ranging from “How to Chop Wood” to “How to Laugh.”

The idea of combining various disciplines in order to better engage and instruct students had been the catalyst for this interdisciplinary group from its inception. From their experience with “Food for the Soul Train,” the teachers were able to come away with a range of new creative ideas for expression with which to engage their students.

At the end of the session, one of the teachers shared that this had been “the best professional development experience” she had ever had. Students and teachers alike came away from the day both energized and inspired.

If you are curious about Food for the Soul Train traveling to your school, or for more information about Food for the Soul Train, Amy Tingle, or Maya Stein, please visit their website at food4thesoultrain.com.

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