On April 29, Big Class teen intern Nia Gates, traveled to Washington D.C. for the 2017 People’s Climate March. Nia read an original poem, as well as letters from I Want You to Know Something About Me to an audience of 200,000, the white house and entire National Mall. Here’s her recount of the experience:
The People’s Climate March in D.C was absolutely empowering and just what was needed living in today’s political problems. Being there I found myself moved by the numerous amount of people and ethnicities that came to join and collaborate to create this movement stand for all rights and problems. To be able to remember that this country isn’t just Black and white or male or female but all shades and all genders
Performing in front of hundreds was a first for me but to be able to read in front of a crowd that understood what I wanted and what I saw through my poem “Hold Your Seats, The Tree Speaks.” To be a part of something bigger and being able to share with others who wish to make the same change in the world.
Having the opportunity to travel to D.C and share a part of my world with the rest was an absolutely amazing experience. I would say beyond all of the people marching, chanting, and slowly melting away in the 90-degree heat of that day. I would have to say my favorite part was the chance to meet the fellow artists and speakers who also stepped onto the stage either before or after me. The youth, the elderly and almost every movement who has been in the spotlight over the last few years was all here and I am 18-year-old girl from New Orleans was able to travel hundreds of miles to march and perform with people who see a future of liberation just like myself.
This year, Big Class has had the privilege of partnering with Tulane Small Center for a total renovation of our Writers’ Room at Sylvanie Williams College Prep! Read on to see photos of the renovated room, press about Tulane Small Center, and a Q&A with both Professor Emilie Taylor and her students.
Read & watch more about the project:
Read more about the project on The Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design’s Website.
Read a Q&A with Professor Emilie Taylor and a few students from the Design Build class:
Q&A with Design Build Manager, Emilie Taylor
What is Tulane’s Small Center, and how did you get involved with Big Class?
The Small Center is Tulane School of Architecture’s community design center – we advance community-driven ideas through collaboration, design education and scrappy problem-solving. Once a year we have an open Request for Project Proposals, where community-based groups in New Orleans write to us with ideas about design projects they would like to pursue. Last year Big Class’s proposal for a writer’s room at Sylvanie Williams was one of the projects chosen for our spring semester design build project! What that means is that a team of 13 architecture students has 15 weeks from the first conversation/interview with Big Class In-School Programs Manager Ashely Teamer to having a complete built project.
In what ways do you think this project affected students to be better architects and members of the design community?
For many of our students this is the first time they are working with a client, which is a big moment for them – it’s also the first time they have a budget, first time making something with tools, and often the first time their design ideas are being built and having real-world consequences. So there’s a lot to learn and a lot of pushing against comfort zones in that bundle. The students have to learn quickly how to communicate, collaborate, and be creative problem solvers. My hope is that the engagement with Big Class staff and their students as well as discussions about design process and access to design that are happening throughout the semester make the students think more critically about what they do, who they do it for, and how they each can be a force for good and design equity in their corner of the world.
Q&A with Students from The Design Build Class
Tell us a little bit about the creative process for this project. What did you learn by visiting the Writers’ Room, and how did you determine the final design?
Camille: In visiting the Writer’s Room, I learned a lot about the general mood of the class, like what the kids are interested in, what sort of things they would like to see in a space and what sort of things they wouldn’t enjoy. The Big Class kids that we interacted with were a funny, creative, and sometimes crazy bunch, and talking with them made me think they would enjoy a playful, vibrant space.
Paula: Visiting the school gave us the chance to talk to the teachers and the students about what they would like to see in the space and get some one to one feedback. This preliminary studies helped us narrow down to a few key needs and wants for the space which we carried through to the final product.
What were your favorite parts of working on this project?
Camille: I had a lot of favorite parts of this project. One thing that was great was working with an actual client, and having my first experience with a client be such an easy, collaborative one. Big Class was awesome, they were communicative and excited and I think that having this being my first interaction with a real client was a really positive experience. Building off of that, not only was it awesome to have that interaction, it was also awesome to be able to make something for someone and watch them see a little dream realized. Seeing the reaction of our final design felt really, really good, it felt like we had done our job and served Big Class well, and I can’t wait to see what the kids think.
What were some of your biggest challenges when working on this project?
Paula: I think one of the biggest challenges we faced were building the actual structure, because no matter how many times we drew it and planned out how everything was going to work something wouldn’t quite work out the way we had hopped.
Big Class Poetry interns Christiann Cannon, left, and Anyx Burd read over a poetry submission for the upcoming Pizza Poetry day in New Orleans. Big Class will publish poetry on pizza boxes this Friday. Advocate staff photo by LESLIE GAMBONI
BY SUSAN LARSON Special to The Advocate APR 19, 2017
If you order a pizza on Friday, there might be something special on the box.
Those stanzas and couplets have made a long journey from the creative mind of a young poet before being read by professional poets, educators and interns, attached to something delicious and delivered to your door.
It’s for a good cause: Pizza Poetry Day and the programs of Big Class, an innovative writing program dedicated to making the voices of New Orleans students ages 6-18 heard.
Rai Bolden is a proud transplant to the city of New Orleans. A veteran teacher raised by an artistic mother, stoic grandmother and a impenetrable village of aunties, uncles and friends in Memphis, Tennessee – home of the blues and rock and roll! Rai graduated from Hampton University in Virginia with a degree in Marketing and received her Masters in Teaching and Learning from Louisiana College in Pineville. A certified ELA teacher with over 17 years of experience in traditional public and charter schools in major bustling U.S. cities from Houston, Texas to Harlem, NY, Rai has spent her career as a public servant. A proponent of equitable and competitive educational opportunities for all children, Rai has worked on the front lines in schools promoting education for the whole child and has passionately advocated on behalf of families to make schools accountable to the communities they serve. Rai created and directed an in-school Arts Program at KIPP STAR in Harlem – a model for programs across the network. She has made teaching children about their history a cornerstone of her teaching philosophy and is a staunch supporter of culturally relevant pedagogy across all academic areas. One of her greatest passions is writing, and it is her daily goal to make words come alive for the children whom she teaches. “I teach in schools in communities like the communities that nourished me. It is my belief and duty to serve children and families to aid in developing strong thinkers, passionate advocates and creative leaders who are also dedicated to reaching back and building up! I am a Big Class cheerleader because it is a resource that encourages each child it touches to become his/her own movement.”
Baty Landis is a New Orleans native who is passionate about writing, and especially functional writing: She wrote and edited travel guides for Fodor’s Travel Publications and Lonely Planet for 10 years. Baty holds degrees in Music from UC Berkeley and Princeton University and has worked in the arts in New Orleans for a decade, including through YAYA, Inc., SilenceIsViolence, and Sound Cafe in the Marigny. She is excited to be a part of Big Class’s new capital project to create a Youth Writing Center in the Seventh Ward and hopes the Center will become a hub of creative energies serving all of New Orleans. Baty currently lives in Mid-City with her husband and three children and is very involved as a volunteer at her children’s school, Morris Jeff Community School.
We are thrilled to announce that longtime Big Class board member and partner teacher Kyley Pulphus has officially joined the staff as the full time Program Director!
Kyley Pulphus was born and raised in New Orleans. She received her BA in Communications from UNO, and her MFA in Film Making from Florida State. She is an award-winning children’s film writer/director. Though she went off for a bit to work in children’s television, she returned to New Orleans eight years ago to pursue a career in education. She spent most of that time as a classroom teacher stressing the importance of providing children with opportunities to have their voices heard. She still continues to write, and was most recently honored as a featured reader and writer in New Orleans’s inaugural production of Listen To Your Mother. Her favorite writers are Maya Angelou and Mo Willems.
We are so excited to have the brilliant essayist and novelist Kiese Laymon as the lead mentor for our personal histories book project with G. W. Carver Collegiate Academy.
Kiese spent several hours today working with students on writing with specificity, connecting with memory, and using writing as a way to slow down and understand. Going forward he’ll be working closely with students as they complete multiple drafts.
He’ll also mentor the Student Editorial Board and write the forward to their book, which will be out at the beginning of summer.
We’re grateful to Kiese for being such an inspiring part of this project, and approaching it with generosity, candor, and humor. If you haven’t read his amazing work, we urge you to check it out at kieselaymon.com.
We’re so excited to announce the completion of IT’S LIT: Words on Ice!
Made in collaboration with the Arts Council of New Orleans and students from The NET Charter High School, It’s LIT! recently made its grand debut at the Art + Place forum at studioBE.
It’s LIT! was born through a paid 6-week design internship with 4 students from The NET. This project challenged students to think critically about the environments that they and their peers occupy and come up with a design that provided a safe space for New Orleans youth to come together and be creative (not to mention enjoy a sno ball).
It’s LIT will be making appearances at events throughout the school year as a mobile writing center/workshop space — bringing creative writing opportunities to youth around the city. Stay tuned with the Big Class blog and newsletter for updates!
Whether you’re a brand-new or well-seasoned Big Class volunteer, mark your calendars with these upcoming dates!
Volunteer Orientation: Sunday, August 14th from 2-4pm at 532 Louisa St. Fill out an application here to sign up!
Back-to-school info session for returning volunteers: Wednesday, August 10th at 6pm at 532 Louisa St. We’ll outline volunteer opportunities for the upcoming year, and update everyone on our plans for the future and our new youth writing center (coming Summer 2017!)
