OTHERWORDLY EDUCATION
Story Planet hopes to help teachers and inspire kids by showing them that creativity isn’t an alien concept By Jodie Shupac
When a Grade 2/3 teacher at Pauline Junior Public School informed Story Planet, the nonprofit running a three-day workshop in her class, that she needed to cover three curriculum requirements: the study of urban and rural communities, poetry and collage, it was clear to the workshop team what needed to be done:
1. Inform the students that an emissary alien is stopping by Earth to determine the best places to live. 2. Have the class write descriptions of their ideal communities, but in verse, to accommodate this particular strain of aliens, who can only understand poetry, and 3. In case of transmission errors, get students to supplement their poems with expressive collages. Messages would be sent to the alien’s home planet via an Intergalactic Fax Machine, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a toaster. The communiqués from space, also composed in rhyme, would pop out the other side, and the students could then read them aloud.
And, that’s what they did. Facilitated by Story Planet’s program coordinator Katherine Roy, poet Rob Weston and artist Hazel Meyer, plus volunteers, the workshop launched the students into full creative expression, while tweaking key literacy skills and dabbling in multiple artistic mediums.
This experience, of education embedded in zany, tactile fun, demonstrates Story Planet’s mandate to a T: to inspire children and give them the tools to become effective communicators.
“We find bridges that let kids see that writing is a really cool, neat, fun way to express themselves. We’ll bring in an artist to create a really ridiculous character, maybe out of clay or paint, and say to the kids, ‘Who is this guy? What do you think he does?’ That’s a trigger for them to want to tell a story. As opposed to saying, ‘Hey Billy, write a story,’ ” explains Liz Haines, director and founder of Story Planet, while sitting in the organization’s new, firstever office space.
Composed of four staff and a cast of volunteers, Story Planet has run workshops in Toronto schools and community centres since 2009, and gained official charity status last July. They procured a storefront at Bloor and Dufferin in November, and several weeks ago opened a coffee shop — the social enterprise that will funnel money into the nonprofit.
Not surprisingly, the café radiates otherworldliness. Named the Intergalactic Travel Authority, it resembles the departures lounge of a spaceship, complete with pristine, rounded façades, spacethemed souvenirs and a menu offering Dark Matter Mocha, Black Hole Brew and an assortment of Intergalactic Nourishments. Beyond the coffee bar, an arched portal, constructed dramatically across two sliding doors, serves as the entryway to Story Planet proper, the workshop space. Starting in September, school groups will be able to attend workshops on-site, and both children and youth can access a new after-school drop-in program.
Hailing from a background in children’s television, early childhood education and theatre, Haines exudes youthful energy, punctuating thoughtful statements with her infectious laugh.
“I didn’t realize how important it was to have a space until we actually had it, but it’s a hub; it’s got it’s own energy” she effuses. “The idea behind the portal is that you go into a place that’s safe, exciting, fun and say or do things you wouldn’t normally be able to say, do and write about. You can be anything.”
Haines was inspired by U.S. author Dave Eggers’ nonprofit 826 National, which helps underserved children explore creativity and improve writing skills.
Story Planet offers a range of workshop templates, running from one day to six weeks. A group’s unique needs are considered, whether that means bringing extra volunteers for kids with special needs or ensuring there’s a translator for ESL students. Workshops are free, and low-income communities are prioritized, though Haines notes students of all economic backgrounds may struggle with literacy.
There is strong emphasis on visual art; a professional artist, be it a painter, sculptor or Manga expert helps out at each workshop, along with authors and poets.
“Having a writer or artist sit next to a kid and say, ‘Yeah, that’s a problem I’ve had, too, here’s how we can workshop the piece you’re working on’ … often that’s equally important in terms of creating that spark,” Haines explains.
And igniting the spark is, for the organization, the whole point.
“It’s the thing that excites us most, because you can see when a kid suddenly turns on. We did a workshop recently where there were three kids who didn’t want to go out for recess [because they were writing] and the teacher went, ‘It’s not normal! It’s amazing!,’ ” Haines says with a laugh.
Story Planet ultimately enhances school curricula and exists fundamentally to support teachers, but Haines acknowledges there’s a luxury in transcending school system limitations: “So many teachers have huge pressure on them and that sort of disables some of them from being able to teach in a way that might be inspiring in terms of literacy. Sure, there’s flaws in what we do and flaws in the general scope of literacy. But the question is, how do we figure out ways to engage kids in the process of teaching, rather than just teaching the process?”
Funded by the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, CIBC, RBC, TD and the United Way’s Enterprising Non-profits fund, the hope is that the Intergalactic Travel Authority will further expand Story Planet’s capacity.
“We’re trying to be more diverse in terms of funding,” Haines admits.
Needless to say, whether or not they manage to get the whole of Bloordale Village hooked on Jupiter Lattes, where fundraising and pretty much everything else is concerned, Story Planet likely won’t have trouble keeping things creative.