The Return of 826Michigan

My good friends at 826Michigan, a non-profit writing center in Ann Arbor, visited our class four times in the past two weeks. Just like they did last year, they ran a project intended to engage students in meaningful (and fun) writing.

This year's theme was "Social Justice." We learned that our old friend/nemesis, Jimmy Jimereeno, is running a sweatshop in the country of Cabo del Cabo. The factory is staffed by children from a local boarding school. The students wrote a protest song, wrote strongly worded letters, started a blog, and organized a demonstration protesting Jimmy's diabolical tactics.

If you check out the photo slideshow in the blog's sidebar, you can see that the protest rally was a resounding success. I really think students learned a powerful lesson about social justice and making a change in their community and world.

Stay tuned for a video that captures the highlights of the protest. In the meantime, please check out the blog the kids created and have already begun posting to about things other than just unfair labor practices. Also, check out the 826Michigan homepage to see what great things are going on there.