One of the most loved English class traditions at GA is the 8^th Grade memoir assignment. Serving as a milestone to Middle School English, it is an opportunity for students to reflect on their lives and what makes them truly special. Every student in 8^th Grade participates, and many face a conflict right at the beginning.

“’I’m only 14, I haven’t done anything yet,’ is a widespread comment we hear at the beginning of the project,” said Andrew Dolan, Middle School English and History teacher. “They hear about these crazy stories happening to celebrities or know about major life events happening to the adults in their family, and feel they have nothing to say.”  But eventually students learn that each event they experience is original to them.

So much of the learning and experiences in Middle School preparation for Upper School. But the 8^th Grade memoir is a project where they can be very creative, not only in what they’re telling, but how to tell it. They have a lot of creative control using words, graphics, cartoons, or even poetry and get to choose how they create their memoir.

In addition to finding their literary voice, students read other’s memoirs. They read “Night” by Elie Wiesel which is about his experience in the Holocaust and “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah, a comedian who speaks of his time growing up in South Africa during apartheid. Each helps students find different ways to tell a story.

An addition this year doesn’t come in the form of a book but is somewhat closer to home. Eighth graders left the GA educational bubble and were introduced to a group of seniors who are residents at Brightview Senior Living in East Norriton. Students and their senior friends played trivia games with questions such as “Who knows Marlon Brando? Who knows Miley Cyrus?” and worked together to figure out the answers. But most importantly, students listened to their stories.

“Seniors were given prompts such as ‘Tell me about your life. Tell me about your childhood.’ The students also had printed excerpts of their own memoir and read them aloud to the residents,” said Dolan. “Adding this element was a team effort. The seniors also came to GA and we received assistance from different teachers, from maintenance, and even Admission supplied us with goody bags to give to them.”

It was a great experience all around, with residents and teenagers both receiving value during the three meetings. The students learned about storytelling for their memoirs and the Brightview residents loved getting together with the students and sharing. “The students learned that the simple act of storytelling can be important and meaningful no matter what the age,” said Dolan, “which makes for a truly special memoir.”