Place-Conscious Experiential Writing for Students and Teachers: Part 4 of the Nebraska Experience

This podcast—part four of a seven-part series—focuses on how the Prairie Visions Writing Workshop for students and teachers came about due to the wish of the Homestead National Monument of America’s National Park Service to bring a focused writing workshop to the monument location that would take advantage of the history and process of the Homestead Act of 1862. The workshop developed writing sessions that brought students to experience the physical environment and ecology of the TallGrass Prairie, to see the artifacts and historical documents of the Homestead Visitors center, to feel the centeredness of earthing (being in contact with the earth), and mindfulness (being conscious of place, being in the moment). The emphasis on place-based writing engendered a greater appreciation in students of the history of the Homestead Act. The place of Homestead Monument allowed students to focus their writing experiences on the concept of home of the past, present, and future. Guests Susan Cook, Chief of Interpretation; Program Manager for Interpretation, Education, and Volunteers, Niobrara National Scenic River Jan Knispel, Retired Valentine High School, Current Midplains Community College Ramon Mangual PhD, Supervisory National Park Service Ranger, Manhattan Sites Diana Weis, 5th Grade Teacher, Millard Cather Elementary School