Special thanks to Imani Perry, Eddie Ndopu, and Andrew Leland
Intro to Disability Studies
In the early 1970s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp “for the handicapped” (a term no longer used) in the Catskills, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place with summertime sports, smoking and make-out sessions awaiting everyone, and campers experienced liberation and full inclusion as human beings. Their bonds endured as many migrated West to Berkeley, California — a hotbed of activism where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption, civil disobedience, and political participation could change the future for millions.
Crip Camp is the story of one group of people and captures one moment in time. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other equally important stories from the Disability Rights Movement that have not yet received adequate attention. We are committed to using the film’s platform to amplify additional narratives in the disability rights and disability justice communities – with a particular emphasis on stories surrounding people of color and other intersectionally marginalized communities. We stand by the creed of nothing about us, without us. For too long, too many were excluded, and it is time to broaden the number of voices and share the mic (Crip Camp).
Overview
Session #3: Peer Feedback #2
Session #1: Index Card Essay
Special thanks to erica kaufman and Andrea Quaid
Agenda
Index Card Essay Process
Select passages from your writing to work with, copying them onto index cards. Number your cards as you write them.
Cards 1-3 Select passages from your writing that you find compelling. Copy each passage directly onto an index card. Do not revise as you copy.
Cards 4-5 Pick two moments from your readings that seem important to the author. Copy one moment on each index card. Respond to the line with your own writing.
Cards 6-7 Pick two moments from any of the readings that are important to you as a reader. Copy the moment and respond to it with your own writing.
Card 8 Pick a moment you’d like to explore at greater length and talk to someone else about. Copy the moment and respond to it with your own writing and questions. Exchange card with someone else.
Card 9 Paraphrase or quote something someone in our group said or did that helped you to think about something in a new way. Describe the encounter.
Card 10 Choose one stanza of your poem and write it on a card.
Card 11 Choose one or more questions from an in-class activity.
Card 12 Based on where you are in your thinking, explore a reference from your own knowledge that seems to be in conversation with any of the cards you’ve completed so far. This might include literature, pop culture, event.
Arranging your essay When you have all 12 cards, arrange them on poster paper. Card 12 should be first.
Connections, transitions, swerves Write in-between your cards. Expand, connect ideas.
Large group share out or gallery walk
Session #2: Media Analysis
"There are many ways people receive information and communicate. We don’t all rely on our ears to hear on our eyes to see, on our voices to talk or on our fingers and hands to feel. But we all take in media and everyone can share their thoughts and experiences with others. We can’t do that unless the media is accessible to us." Crip Camp Curriculum Media Literacy
Agenda
Reflect on the poster for the film CRIP CAMP and take a few minutes to write down what you see. Make a note of what parts of the image you are focusing on i.e. “A person is in a wheelchair and there is someone standing behind them holding a guitar.”
How are you deciding on, and reporting, or not reporting, on people’s gender, skin tone, race, location, and clothing? What adjectives are useful for you to be reminded of using?
Select an image and write an image description for the image. Include the copyright information at the end of their ID as that helps with the first part of media literacy: who created this?
Reflect & Share
• Why are image descriptions important to create?
• What are some ways we can be inclusive of more people when sharing media?
Agenda
Student Choice
Read Andrew Leland, How to Be Blind or Imani Perry, A Dangerously High Threshold for Pain
Listen Eddie Ndopu on “Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever” or watch Fireside Chat: Eddie Ndopu and Rose Kirk
FFW Imagining Key Questions (8 min): What question is this text answering? What problem does it address? What’s at stake for the writer? For the reader?
FFW Dialogue with the author (5 min): : What questions would you ask?
The “Dear Reader Letter” is a self-reflective process note that gives students the opportunity to compose a letter to the person reading their draft, asking for the specific feedback that he/she feels will be most helpful at this point in the writing process. In other words, this is a letter that narrates what the writer thinks his/her paper is accomplishing, what he/she aims to accomplish in this paper, and what specifically they /she / he needs help with. The letter helps the student take control over the kinds of feedback they want out of the peer review process. Students should include this letter along with their draft so that each student in the group uploads 2 files -- a draft and a letter, clearly labelled.
Agenda
Read your peer’s essay and listen to the accompanying recording (if there is one). This first reading should be done without commenting.
Read your peer’s “Dear Reader Letter." Take note of the kind of feedback that your peer is asking for. That should guide how you respond to your peer’s essay.
Reread the essay a second time, taking notes and making comments directly on the essay.
Sayback/Summary: Summarize or sayback what you just read. This will help the writer be able to see discrepancies between what they "meant to say" and what readers "heard.”
Center of Gravity: Point (through highlighting or leaving a comment) to a specific moment in the text that seems especially important, interesting, or generative. This is not necessarily the thesis or main idea. Instead, you are trying to point out potentially rich elements of the draft that might be developed further.
What is almost said? What do you want to hear more about? Help the writer see what’s missing in their text or what is left unclear by asking questions.
Once you’ve read your peer’s essay a second time and commented, your final step is to return to their “Dear Reader Letter” and respond with a letter of your own. This letter should aim to address any questions asked in the original letter and point out moments in the essay that you think are working well. This letter should be uploaded and shared to the same group folder.
Large Group Share Out: How did this feel as a process?