I am a secondary school teacher in Coláiste Mhuire, a gaelcholáiste, in Cabra, and I also volunteer with Fighting Words Creative Writing Centre in Dublin 1.
Over the years my school has developed a fruitful partnership with Fighting Words. Every year Transition Year students visit the bright, book-lined writing space to take part in a short-story writing workshop. A few years ago playwright and drama facilitator Louise Melinn came to the school to run a Fighting Words playwriting course. The students’ work was presented by professional actors at the end of the project. The moment, when their words were brought to life, was one of the highlights of the year.
Next year we will participate in the Transition Year Book Project where students will hone their writing skills through a variety of workshops. They will contribute to an anthology of short stories which is due to be launched in the school.
Much of what makes Fighting Words so special is quite simple. Young people’s creativity is trusted and honoured. Autonomy is handed over. Playfulness is at the heart of all creative endeavour and they are supported and encouraged at all times along the way.
These values have helped underpin the approach we take towards promoting creativity in Coláiste Mhuire. Over the years, TY plays have been devised in partnership with the students. We have had characters as diverse as Romeo from Ballybough, Juliet from Blackrock and Git Mahon from The Playboy of Cabra West.
We are participating in the Creative Schools scheme, an initiative led by the Arts Council in partnership with the Department of Education, which seeks to put the arts and creativity at the heart of young people’s lives.
Creativity is especially important right now. With the closure of schools on March 12th we have had to transform our teaching practice and rebuild our community virtually. Creativity is a tool we can lean into to help diversify our teaching and, more importantly, promote wellbeing.
My life is a lot quieter nowadays. It has made me all the more attuned to the impact of words from the outside world
These strange and challenging times provide an opportunity for students to embrace their imagination through creative writing. Students could journal their daily lives, picking a different genre each day such as thriller, musical theatre, tragedy and so on, and share them in an online class. They could write their own poems in response to Kitty O’Meara’s And The People Stayed Home or Lynn Ungar’s Pandemic. It has been helpful for me to think about the different ways in which to set work. Short films can be created on Adobe Spark Film and podcasts on the Audacity app.
Any activities that create school spirit have proved to be popular in our school. Our principal, Oisín Mac Eoin, runs a weekly online table quiz and wellbeing challenge for students, parents and teachers, which provides a break from schoolwork and a sense that school is still a communal experience.
Artists and arts institutions have been exceptionally generous and proactive in providing online resources to help young people delve into creativity in their own time. Younger writers could check out #CreativeBursts, where Sarah Webb is providing writing prompts for families. The websites redtedart.com and artfulparent.com have great ideas for arts and crafts for younger creatives. Phones and iPads can be put to imaginative use in exploring animation with the app Stop Motion Studio. #CreateAtHome features many ideas and resources and a curated creative learning offering will be unveiled shortly on artscouncil.ie/creative-schools. And, of course, Fighting Words continues to run it programmes at fightingwords.ie.
Like many others, my life is a lot quieter nowadays. It has made me all the more attuned to the impact of words from the outside world. Their quiet power has become amplified. One day as I worried about missed student assignment deadlines, I received an email from our principal reminding us to be gentle with ourselves and with our students in terms of workload: “Tá blas ar an mbeagán,” it emphasised. The email finished with the words of President Michael D Higgins: “In the journey to the light, the dark moments should not threaten. Belief requires that you hold steady.” Words are important. Words carry weight. They can shift the energy and perspective of our current situations. They are lifebuoys in times of upheaval.
Fighting Words has always understood that.
