Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen tap personal creativity through summer camp
The temperature hovers near 90 degrees with 45 percent humidity on this late-June afternoon in Bloomington. Somehow, the Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen manage to look perfectly comfortable as they leave the cool Hinkle-Garton Farmstead, pass an heirloom garden of flowers and vegetables, and duck a low tree branch to go "back in time" to the 1700s. Today's topic: pioneer women and how they lived.
This crop of 15 young women, ranging in age from 8 to 15, are enrolled in The Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen, a weeklong summer writing and leadership camp for young women. The camp was co-founded in 2006 by Michelle Henderson, a researcher at Indiana University's Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Melissa Keller, an education professor at IU and Hester Hemmerling, a local writer and storyteller for WFHB. Wendy Walter-Bailey, the Reconnecting Youth Coordinator for the Monroe County Community Schools, is the co-director of the camp this year.
"Remember, when you step through to the other side, it will be 1709 -- 300 years ago," Henderson tells the girls, many of whom wear colorful visors and carry water bottles, and all of whom carry small, rectangular pastel notebooks.
Photo by Aaron Bernstein
Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen 2009 at Bloomington's Hinkle-Garton Farmstead
Each day, campers are given an introduction to a writing concept -- ranging from haiku to memoir -- and throughout the week, each is working on creating a time capsule of writing and crafts about their own memories and family histories, if they choose to write about those things.
On this particular day, the girls have spent the early part of their camp day listening to pioneer-era folk songs and trying out a dulcimer with Bloomington-based folk singer Carrie Newcomer. Now, clustered around Henderson, the campers talk about what they might have seen in Bloomington in the 1700s (covered wagons, farms and more animals are among the ideas) before they turn to the day's writing prompt -- What did pioneer women have to face, and what kept them strong? What do you see in yourself that's strong?
During this year's camp, which ran from June 22-26, girls could choose to keep their work private or read what they'd written aloud. One important Flying Pen policy is that no feedback is given during sharing time, although campers are encouraged to tell each other later if they enjoyed what someone else wrote, or if it inspired them to write something related.
"Girls -- and boys -- don't need to be encouraged to be creative," said Henderson. "They are naturally creative when they are given the freedom to express themselves in a safe environment with no judgment."
Henderson came up with the idea for the camp when she was the family literacy coordinator at Clear Creek Elementary School and saw how much students seemed to enjoy creative writing in the journalism club she founded.
"The students loved to write when they got to choose the topic without any grades being attached to their work," said Taylor. "I also worked with several students who were considered 'challenging' in their classrooms, but who were very engaged and motivated during journalism club, and also very proud when they published an article in our school newspaper."
During her graduate studies, Henderson said she learned a lot about high-stakes, standardized testing and its impact on school curriculum and child development.
"I believe that creative writing and self-expression are being lost in public schools under the pressures of 'No Child Left Behind,' and writing circles and camps provide an important social experience for students who are full of imagination and ideas that they love to express through writing," she said.
The Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen is a writing group for young women which is organized by Writing Unlimited, a local non-profit organization. The writing and leadership camp has occurred annually since its inception in 2006, in addition to weekly writing circles during the school year. Several of this year's campers have attended every writing and leadership camp since the inaugural year, and about half of the 2009 group attended the camp last year. Many have also taken part in the weekly Sisters of the Flying Fountain Pen writing circles over the past year, Henderson said.
"I hope they will come away from the camp with a deeper understanding of our community history -- which I'll be providing -- and of their own personal or family history, and an appreciation of their own unique background and talents," Henderson said. This year's camp focused on local history and leaders, especially women, who have made Bloomington and Monroe County a better place through their actions.
"I hope the girls will gain an appreciation of community service and that they will be inspired to use their own skills -- especially writing -- to work for a better community and world," she said.
Academically, said Henderson, a student with strong writing skills will flourish in school and in most careers, from term papers to cover letters and beyond.
"In terms of emotional health, research has shown that journaling can reduce anxiety and increase happiness, so there is a benefit in developing the habit of regular, unstructured writing about thoughts and feelings," she said.
"There is also the pleasure of playing with words in poetry, stories and songs -- we spend time every day in camp playing word games! And of course, there is the beauty of creative written expression that we have valued throughout history -- which, unfortunately, has no place in standardized test essays."
