A brightly burning essay collection

Birmingham high school writers cover problems in education

If you’re tired of hearing partisan hot takes on the myriad issues playing out in American schools, may I recommend a new collection of writing from experts—high school students in Birmingham. This bright group of writers reminded me that the best hope for our broken world can be found in the hearts of young people, especially when they pour their hearts out on the page.

At A.H. Parker High School, this group launched a new essay collection on a formidable subject—problems in education today. “Brightly Burning” contains 35 essays courageously covering a range of education-related issues including technology, boredom, discipline, cheating, schedules, learning, creativity and mental health.

The collection came out of YAWP! or the Young Alabama Writers Project, a collaboration between local high schools and The Connell School of Writing. The project includes writing instruction over eight weeks in which students learn critical thinking skills and how to turn their opinions on a subject into an organized argument in the form of a written essay.

Brian Connell, director of YAWP!, explained the need for this project and why empowering student voices is critical in current education debates.

Brian Connell addressing student writers at Parker High School

“There are conversations happening about what should and shouldn’t be taught in schools, about what books can and can’t be present, and most of the time the people leading these discussions have never set foot in a school building since the day they graduated,” Connell said. “For this project, we wanted to hear from students who have been in schools their whole lives.” It turned out, they had a lot to say.

A few titles that caught my eye—Your Yelling is Getting in the Way of My Learning, Prepare Students for Life, not Tests! and Under the Radar: How Students’ Embarrassment can Hinder their Learning Experience. Connell said the teachers with YAWP! encouraged students to be honest and helped them develop their ideas and experiences into a thesis. The weeks of work culminated with 35 students adding “published writer” to their resumes.

A student writer interviewed by local media

The name YAWP! comes from a line in a famous Walt Whitman poem, “Song of Myself,” in which Whitman writes, “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.”

At the launch event, Connell reminded the students that this barbaric yawp is “the sound that our soul makes, all that stuff that we carry, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The experiences we've had, everything that we've done, everything that we stand for, everything that's been done to us.”

“I want to thank you for digging into yourselves, forming your ‘yawp’ and making your sound,” he told the students.

The late journalist and educator Ida B. Wells smartly said, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” That’s exactly what these young writers strive to do in their essays, with help from the Young Alabama Writers Project, a bright partnership worth celebrating when it feels like the rest of the world is spinning.

”Brightly Burning” can be purchased through the Connell School of Writing website.