Youth Camp heads to Detroit

Oakland University’s Meadow Brook Writing Project (MBWP) is stretching its summer camp beyond the Meadow Brook mansion and into midtown Detroit for their new Detroit Summer Writing Camp. Partnering with the Henry Ford Academy’s School for Creative Studies, MBWP will provide middle school students with a week-long writing camp in the historic Argonaut Building designed by Albert Kahn.

“Last fall, we were doing a writing marathon in Detroit and I felt Detroit would be a fascinating place to host a writing camp, with its rich history and beautiful architecture,” explained Christina Hall, coordinator for the Detroit Youth Camp and special lecturer in the department of writing and rhetoric. “We want all students to have engaging, inspiring opportunities, no matter what school district or income bracket they might come from.”

Students will participate in workshops where they will explore writing for real-world audiences. For inspiration, students will tour local cultural centers such as the Detroit Institute of Art and Detroit Historical Museum. 

The camp will be led by teacher consultants who participated in MBWP’s Summer Institute, a workshop for PreK-16 master teachers, and student teachers from the OU School of Education and Human Services. The week-long camp will conclude with students publishing their work on the web and participating in a public reading open to the community.

“MBWP youth camps offer students a place where creativity and personal voice are encouraged in an environment where they can discover and explore new places and ideas,” said Hall.

MBWP offers professional development opportunities for teachers and aims to improve student writing at all levels and in all subjects. MBWP is a site of the National Writing Project and is affiliated with the Urban Sites Network.

For more information about this and other camps offered by MBWP, visit oakland.edu/mbwp.