Marianopolis school visit– thanks!

This week, I got to go do a presentation and workshop with Monique Polak’s Writing For Children class at Marianopolis college (a CEGEP). During the presentation, my technology failed me for the first time (no cable for the Power Point, so no illustrated history of breakdance) but Monique and her very sharp students easily helped me fill the hour with question after question about writing. And I do love questions, so that was quite a treat.

For the workshop component, I did something I’ve never done before: I personally led the whole class in a quick dance lesson. Usually I bring a b-girl with me to run that component, but I was feeling confident, and I was alone, so I led it myself and… it was great. Despite the students’ insistence that they were awkward and untalented, it was a fun, energy-boosting start to the day (at 8:15 am! ouch!), and the perfect introduction to the workshop, which was all about verbalising the non-verbal. And I must insist, protestations of awkwardness aside, there was a lot of potential and willingness in that room; they caught on very quickly. (Visit Monique’s blog to see a photo)

I should confess, I loved CEGEP as a student, and after all this time, it remains my favourite two years (replacing grade 12 and the first year of university) of Quebec’s magnificently quirky school system. Not only was this Marianopolis visit terrific, but I was honoured, thrilled and delighted (possibly even a little woozy) to have Break On Through included in the curriculum for Canadian Identity in Literature at Vanier College last fall. I’m thoroughly addicted now, and hope to do as many CEGEP visits as I can in the future. (Is anyone from my old school, John Abbott College reading this? Nudge, nudge?)