As you may know, our major publication for 2012 will be written by students in our after-school tutoring program at Ypsilanti Middle School. For weeks now, these students have been diligently working on NOT ONLY their regular homework, but ALSO writing prompts on the subject of “past, present, future”. The results? Well, stellar.
Here’s what Corey A-W had to say about a time in his past that shaped who he is today:
The first time my dad taught me how to play basketball I was very nervous but excited because of me learning a new thing while I was very young. I was excited because I saw everyone doing it on TV, like my favorite players while I was young. Kobe Bryant and Shaq O’Neal were the best forwards to me so I wanted to try and get famous from it.
There were lots of people besides my dad who would help me out and build more confidence so I could reach one of my goals. My brother helped me a lot when we were younger and also now. My older brother would take me to gyms sometimes or during the summer we’d go to the park and go shoot. Also my uncles and aunts also played a bit part in how I became to be this good, so has my mom. Even though my mom probably has never played basketball ever, she pushes me harder to do the best I can and comes to my games and it makes me happy.
What I remember that day in the gym I remember seeing six basketball rims that were all down and seeing all the people there shooting as well. I also remember seeing a lot of purple because the school’s main color was purple. I heard lots of yelling (well, not yelling just people talking loud) and basketballs bouncing. The smell of the gym wasn’t that stinky it was a little fresh. The sound of my first shot going in was probably real loud to me because it was very important to how I am now. It was a clacking sound when the ball bounced off the rim into the nets and the sound was a “gcuoop” sound.
Ladies and gentlemen, GCUOOP. If there were an annual award for Best New Onomatopoeia, Corey A-W would have it LOCKED UP for 2012. Everybody else just take your basketballs and go home, because: GCUOOP.
I bet right now you are thinking, “Gee, this book project sounds really fun. Gcuoop! I wish I had been a tutor at YMS so I could meet all these wonderful students and work with them on their writing.” Well, friend, you are in LUCK! We are looking for Traveling Editors to join us for the next two weeks at YMS to help Corey A-W and his classmates revise and refine their work before we begin the publication project. Traveling Editors also get to wear ties and cool glasses, because they are editors (naturally). We will need Traveling Editors Monday-Thursday for the weeks of 2/6 and 2/13. (Yes that’s right, the two weeks that begin TODAY!)
Can you join us as a Traveling Editor and help these YMS students over the finish line? E-mail Catherine@826michigan.org to get started!