Teaching the Terrified Tongue (Part XXXII)

Raising consciousness, from withdrawn silence
to the public statement, one step at a time.

At the Waterways book fairs children and adults performed together. They were published together in the magazine that documented the event. When Ten Penny Players brought the Waterways Project into New York City public schools, we found that the educational administration had isolated diverse communities of learners, particularly those with learning disabilities and/or behavior problems. The Waterways publications could help to bring their voices back into the mainstream.

The little books Waterways brought into the classroom presented student voices that had not been represented by other books. The students who were removed from the mainstream and marginalized could read and respond to their peers. The publications were not ends in themselves, but would be used to motivate reluctant learners to read and write.

Students attending alternative classes in rehab or prison programs were writing to understand their lives and the world about them. Studying their own and peer writing would be a transformative process and part of their education.

From 1988:

Streams 2

From 2000:

Streams 14