As a new teacher in the Columbus area I found the PAGES program and process beneficial in many ways. Just to mention a few…

1) I was introduced to resources for my students that I didn’t know existed. I can now capitalize on these resources in the future.

2) I made contacts and shared ideas with other teachers in the area. Such shared knowledge enhances us all. Again, these people open doors to innovative paths of education to incorporate into my curriculum.

3) My students were able to visit, view, write, and discuss issues and ideas with specialists ranging from local artists to dramaturgists, to graphic artists, to other students and educators…these people and resources enrich the learning for us all. Some of these artists and their personal work helped inspire students in their own artistic pursuits.

4) The written reflections on the graphic novel, film, exhibitions, and performance allowed students to interpret, analyze, and evaluate a variety of materials. The students’ writing gave them a chance to catch their breath and reevaluate the experiences.

5) The experiences birthed a few new writing prompts to use in class.

6) Students ran with the Paula Hayes exhibition and made their own terrariums with the additional requirement of incorporating text to tell the story of the terrarium. Having their work exhibited allows students to take pride in their work and share it with others.

7) Writing across the curriculum is crucial to student success. PAGES helped foster this fact.

8) The conversations started in PAGES bled over into other courses, specifically their AP Environmental Science course and Current Events course where environmentally themed works of art and the real-life issues of people in Iran took on added significance.

9) Students love field trips. Classroom learning can become sterile in excess. Field trips breathe new life into a class.

10) Being a published author at such a young age give students confidence, allows them to take pride in their work, and makes their work relevant in the real-world, as opposed to being completed simply for meaningless points assigned by one teacher.

To close…I loved PAGES this year and sincerely appreciate the time Dionne, the artists, and the Wexner Center’s personnel gave us. Well done. This is an important program with which I was glad to be associated.