Cow Tipping Press Day 4

Cow Tipping Press Day 4

Today we talked about and worked on Journalism. We talked about people who engage in journalism are people who write for podcasts, newspapers, blogs and that they try to be unbiased. We listened to an excerpt from the podcast "How to Become Batman"  which was a fascinating piece about how some people who are blind can learn echo location and can help activate visual areas of the brain. It also talked about how sometimes people can be prevented from learning echolocation by well meaning people who are "overprotective."

The writing prompt was to 1) write about a time someone overprotected you or "robbed you of a learning moment".

One of our participants wrote about how he wished he could have more choice in controlling his finances and wanting to learn about it to not have to be so protected. Another talked about how tricky having money could be because sometimes you are tempted to buy things you don't really need like dvd's. One of our members talked about how people who wanted to stand in her way didn't need to be part of her life. One participant came up with a story about the superhero Batman and how he could catch you if you would try to steal from a store, leading us to talk about how sometimes it is good to be protective.  Another member wrote about a time when he thought he was ready to do something but it turned out he did need protection.

We next read about 27 Historic Firsts That Changed the World Forever. Our group liked that this article reminded us of news and history and enjoyed learning about these women. Others liked having list of people who changed life and why. The writing prompt was to 1) make a list of important people and why or 2) write about one person and several reasons why they rock. One person wrote about how how important her brother has been in her life. A second person wrote about how much Buffy the Vampire, Wonder Woman , and Jennifer Lawrence are to her. A third person wrote about his admiration for Robin Williams.

Our third reading was Everyone is Going Through Something by Kevin Love. Our group felt that this article gave a glimpse into another life. They also felt that it was sad he hadn't had time to grieve his grandmother but they were glad that he was sharing about what he was going through.  The writing prompt was to write about if you could tell the whole world a truth what would you tell them. One member imagined he would write the true story of what it is like to be a NBA player. Another wrote about autism and how he feels it is a misability-a misunderstood ability. He wrote about how people with autism are able to work on challenges. Another member wrote about how she had some mental health struggles, hearing voices, but that she was able to work with family and doctors to make her way through.

At the end of our session we had a couple of our members read poems from last class about different body parts (this was the homework assignment).

We also talked about how on 3/22 I could tell anyone who can come about MN Writes MN Reads. See you for our last class on 3/15.