FCJHS hosts WITS Program from UofA

Posted Date: 03/20/2025

This week, the FCJHS library hosted graduate students from the WITS program at UA Fayetteville to conduct lessons on poetry and creative writing. The WITS representatives worked with classes at every grade level, and according to the teachers, many students participated enthusiastically and meaningfully. Mr. Whitby stated that some of the student creations shed light on the students' personalities and behaviors: "His poem really speaks to who he is as a person and why he [does what he does]."  Mr. Whitby further  indicated that these lessons heavily spoke to what he's teaching right now with narrative writing and helped broaden the students' thinking via a more relaxed atmosphere. Mrs. Winfrey agreed that the students were highly engaged; in fact, this was the first time that she had seen some students so motivated in their poetry writing. It was suggested that, moving forward, we try to get the WITS program to visit twice a year because the experience enabled students to be more expressive, yet more critical; it affords them greater exposure to poetry-explicit standards; and it makes them more open to giving and receiving criticism about their writing.