Humanities program sparks creativity, curiosity for middle schoolers

Ambient music poured through the speakers of a Moss Arts Center classroom as middle schoolers – some adorning cat ears – scribbled stories about magical creatures.

Next door in Shanks Hall, students discussed the ethics of everyday life choices, like whether it is ever OK to eat the last bowl of Frosted Flakes. Others reimagined “Romeo and Juliet” as a rap performance, studied a phonetic map of the human mouth, and discussed themes of growing up in rural areas and feeling pride in their place.

It was all part of the newly launched Big Ideas in the Humanities: A Saturday Enrichment Experience program.

The pilot program, hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, is free to participants and taught by Virginia Tech professors, students, and community experts. Held for four consecutive Saturdays, it will conclude on March 1. More than 30 middle schoolers from across the New River and Roanoke valleys are enrolled in the program and studying humanities-centered topics through linguistics, literature, creative fantasy writing, philosophy, and theatre courses.

Clint Whitten, a postdoctoral associate in the Center for Rural Education at Virginia Tech and the program’s director, said it addresses an “opportunity gap” in the community.

“We know based on research that there is a dearth of humanities opportunities in general,” Whitten said. “Oftentimes, humanities programs are the ones to be underfunded in public schools, and this is heightened even more in rural communities.”

The program was also inspired by the center’s summer enrichment camps, which offer STEM and humanities course options.

“We’ve noticed that a lot of kids gravitate toward those humanities options just because oftentimes there’s a lack of resources in those areas,” he said.

Ultimately, Whitten hopes the experience sets the stage for consistent and affordable humanities programming, such as a humanities-only focused summer camp and a fall Saturday enrichment program.

“I would love to expand and create more,” he said. “A lot of these alternative learning spaces are going to be really influential and really important for serving kids who are wanting to be challenged.”

Kamille Simon, a Virginia Tech sophomore majoring in history and social science education, is one of the program’s volunteers and assists instructors with their courses. She heard about the opportunity through the Reach living-learning community, which Whitten also directs. Simon, who wants to be a history teacher after graduation, said the experience is teaching her fun ways to break down complicated humanities topics for middle school students.

"There’s a lot of emphasis on STEM education, and I do not discount that, but I do think that humanities are very critical and they’re definitely facing some scrutiny,” Simon said. “So to give kids the opportunity to engage with that side of their mind is always a treat. Getting out and branching out of their comfort zone every Saturday for a month is a great opportunity for kids.”

Eve Azano, a Virginia Tech senior majoring in elementary education, is the program’s creative fantasy writing instructor. While fantasy writing is one of her passions, she said she never had the opportunity to learn about it in school.

 “It was very much teaching myself through reading, research, and learning how to write at school and using those transferable skills to write fantasy,” she said. “It’s hard to write fantasy without anybody ever telling you how.”

Azano, who was dressed as a Jedi on a recent Saturday, said she is encouraging students to dress up as their favorite fantasy characters throughout the duration of the course.

“I just want to give kids a space where they can not only learn about something they're passionate about that they don't get in school, but also a place where they get to be themselves,” she said.

Charlie Farrington, a visiting assistant professor in the Department of English, is instructing a dialect and language variation course with Abby Walker, associate professor of linguistics. Inside their classroom, students are introduced to the science of language, including capturing sounds in writing using the international phonetic alphabet, and charting regional dialectal differences.

“The fun thing is they’re coming back to class each week with new things that they noticed,” Farrington said. “And that’s really exciting for us, because young people are at the edges of language change.”

Arianna, an eighth grader from Salem, is taking the linguistics course. On a recent Saturday, she said the program has helped her to discover new interests.

“It helps you get more experiences and find out things that you’re interested in that you didn’t know,” she said. “When I joined, linguistics was my second choice. I didn’t know it would be as fun as it is.”

Farrington said the experience also shows young people the types of careers they can have in the humanities.

“They might not come from families that went to universities, and they could be a first generation scholar, so showing them what we do for research is really cool,” he said. “You start to see lightbulbs going off, and that’s the best part for me. It’s invigorating.”

The Summer Enrichment Experience at Virginia Tech is now accepting applications for its summer camp.