photo credit: stellar nursery, by the European Southern Observatory
For Fall 2020, Rhizome is pleased to offer a range of in-depth programming, facilitated by practitioners, for homeschoolers and other members of the community. These will be small, friendly, relaxed classes focused on creative collaboration and open-minded engagement with the material. All classes will occur remotely with the exception of the Botany class on Fridays. Please email info@rhizomedc.org with any questions. Scholarships available.
Close Reading I: Happiness | Mondays 10-11am | Ages 12-14
Close Reading III: Consumerism | Mondays 1130am-1230pm | Ages 14-16 or returning Close Reading students
Story Structure | Mondays 130-3pm | Ages 12-15
Writing for Flow | Mondays 330-420pm | Ages 9-11
Exploring Creativity through 7 Elements of Art | Mondays 430-530 | Ages 8-12
Bodies of Knowledge: Experiential Biology | Tuesdays 130-230pm | Ages 8-12
Literature & Crisis | Wednesdays 10am-noon | Ages 16-18
Literature & Composition: Inquiry and Creativity | Wednesdays 230-415pm | Ages 13-15
Literature & Creative Writing | Thursdays 10-11am | Ages 10-12
Prop Shop | Thursdays 330-430pm | Ages 5-8 (K-2nd grade)
Hands-on Botany | Fridays 10-11am | Ages 8-12 * OUTDOOR IN-PERSON CLASS
All classes begin the week of September 14 and run through the week of December 7.
Monday classes are 11 sessions each; no classes Monday 9/28 or 10/12.
Tuesday classes are 13 sessions each.
Wednesday/Thursday/Friday classes are 12 sessions each; no classes Thanksgiving week (11/25-26).
Close Reading I: Happiness | Mondays 10-11am | Ages 12-14 | Sliding scale: $120-180
For eight eager readers with a philosophical streak: Socratic method education, i.e. cooperative argument between students and text in round-table seminars.
This class provides an ideal opportunity for young people to probe their own values and self-understanding, develop their voices and reasoning skills, practice respectful engagement with peers, and discover wonderful, challenging texts.
This semester, our theme is happiness--
Is happiness merely pleasure? The absence of suffering?
Is happiness a virtue? Does virtue lead to happiness?
We will read several seminal takes on these questions, spanning Epicurus' "ataraxia" and "aponia" to David Pearce, the nanotechnologist/philosopher who claims that, "Our descendants will be animated by gradients of genetically pre-programmed well-being." We'll read Le Guin, Chekhov, Aristotle, a little Kant, plus more, all of whom are fair game for debate.
Close Reading III: Consumerism | Mondays 1130am-1230pm | Ages 14-16 or returning Close Reading students | Sliding scale: $120-180
Socratic method education, ie cooperative argument between students and text in round-table seminars, on the subject of consumerism.
We'll definitely read some Rousseau, Illich, and Baudrillard. We'll put consumerism in historic context with The Fable of the Bees (1714), which praises the economic virtues of "fripperies." We'll read Christine Frederick, 1920s inventor of home economics and champion of design for obsolescence, and Thorstein Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class (conspicuous consumption). We'll look at contemporary philosophies of consumerism and the future, and learn to close read photographic essays and other visual media. We'll also try to step outside the Western binary of mind versus matter, and ask what a functional, sustainable respect for material could look like. We'll "observe" Black Friday by reading about the Victorian history and retail economics of Christmas, and the countercultural movements around it (Make Something Week, Buy Nothing Day).
Story Structure | Mondays 130-3pm | Ages 12-15 | Sliding scale: $180-265
For six imaginative people who like to weave a yarn--- Bring your ideas, projects or ready minds to learn the secrets of a gripping plot, no matter your medium.
September: What makes a story go?-- The inciting incident, plus character development, setting, and Point of View.
October: What keeps us hooked?-- The midpoint transformation, plus internal and external conflict, failure, and struggle.
November: What makes a satisfying ending?-- The climax, plus putting our plot in moral context.
December: Polish and Communicate-- Guiding the experience through imagery, symbolism, and detail.
Throughout we will talk about Conflict, the essential ingredient for every story. We will hone a critical understanding of our own and other stories, explore archetypal and experimental plot structures, and frolic in the fertile creative ground of mixed feelings.
Upon registering, please include the participant's favorite story to share with the class. If we can read/watch/consume a few common stories, we'll benefit from the shared reference point.
Writing for Flow | Mondays 330-420pm | Ages 9-11 | Sliding scale: $100-150
This is a play-based practice class for 9-11 year-olds. Creative prompts, group writing activities, and in-class writing sessions-- great for enthusiastic writers but designed to entice the reluctant or inhibited writer too. Writing as a form of play helps shorten the distance between the thoughts in our heads and the words on the page. Go wild, and go for the giggles, while building stamina, confidence, and appreciation for the possibilities of the blank page.
Exploring Creativity through 7 Elements of Art | Mondays 430-530 | Ages 8-12 | Sliding scale: $120-180
Throughout the 12 weeks, students will learn about Line, Color, Shape, Form, Pattern, Space, and Texture. Each week students will be introduced to a new element and an artist who explored that element. Objective: Understand and develop a relationship with the fundamental elements of art, and develop the skills to identify these elements in popular motifs and artworks. Students will also be challenged to explore new ways of expressing these elements through the performance arts, visual arts, and sound. With these skills, students will build the confidence to speak about artworks and create artworks that are deeply rooted in the art elements. Creativity is the ability to bring some that were once invisible into the light.
Bodies of Knowledge: Experiential Biology | Tuesdays 130-230pm | Ages 8-12 | Sliding scale: $140-200
This is a play based course observing life in and through our own body.
Participants will explore elements of scientific thinking by doing observations and explorations. We will set physical and observational intentions for our time. Every class we will move together, and we will gather observations and share theories.
In September, we will engage with matter. How does water move? Can we move like water? In October, we will do a detailed explorations of feet. How do they work? In November, we will consider energy in and outside of bodies. In December we will tie things together and close with a celebration of our learning on December 8.
Literature & Composition: Inquiry and Creativity | Wednesdays 230-415pm | Ages 14-15 | $300
In this class, our basis for study will be inquiry. Students will read challenging works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and practice writing strategies to communicate complex ideas. They will also write creatively, both individually and collaboratively. Class time will be devoted to discussions, writing activities, and language games. Our goal is to challenge ourselves and enjoy literature. Students will be expected to read roughly 150 pages a week, as well as complete short writing assignments and one or two longer papers.
Because the theme of this class is Inquiry and Creativity, part of our reading list will be determined by students. We will examine the ways in which literature can creatively respond to and generate more questions. Students can respond in creative ways to the literature and discussions through writing, visual art, music, or video.
Open to 13 year-olds with permission from the instructor. Sliding scale available if needed.
Literature & Crisis | Wednesdays 10am-noon | Ages 16-18 | $325
What role can creativity play in times of crisis? What literature might best speak to us? What would we like to create in response? This is a literature and writing class that will focus on our unstable times. We will read novels, poems, plays and nonfiction that respond to or reflect historical and contemporary crises, directly or indirectly. We will explore how the literature is framed by crisis and conflict.
This class will help prepare students for college-level writing by developing their ability to express complex arguments and analyses, as well as sharpening their attention to details of grammar and style. We will focus on what makes writing effective and enjoyable to read, as well as how to feel confident with one's writing voice. Students will also be invited to respond to the works we read through creative writing, visual art, music, or video. Classes will involve short lectures, discussions, writing, and small group projects. Students will be expected to read 150-200 pages per week, as well as complete short weekly writing assignments and two longer papers.
Sliding scale available if needed.
Literature & Creative Writing | Thursdays 10-11am | Ages 10-12 | $150
In this class we will read novels, short stories and poetry, as well as draw and write. We will respond to the literature through discussion, creative writing and drawing, and playing games. The goal of this class is to enjoy literature and creative writing, collaborate with others to discover/uncover meaning, and have fun. Part of the collaborative work will be choosing what books to read during the year. This process opens our minds to genres and authors we may not have discovered otherwise.
Sliding scale available if needed.
Prop Shop | Thursdays 330-430pm | Ages 5-8 (K-2nd grade) | Sliding scale: $130-190
Prop Shop combines sculpture, special effects, costume, and imagination to bring “stuff” to life. Young makers learn about storytelling techniques and theater play to develop original stories. Using household items as material, projects will include puppet theater, hand props, masks, and wearable art.
Hands-on Botany | Fridays 10-11am | Ages 8-12 | Sliding scale: $130-190 * OUTDOOR IN-PERSON CLASS
Each week we will visit a different landscape in the DC area to learn about local plants. Students will learn and practice plant identification skills, explore the plant groups that grow in different ecosystems, discuss the relationships between plants and humans, and learn practical uses of area plants. Each student will keep a nature journal throughout the class. Masks and social distancing are required for this in-person class. All locations will be within 10 miles of Rhizome. All outdoors. 8 participants maximum.
About the instructors:
Leslie Bumstead: I am a poet and writer who has been teaching literature and creative writing to homeschoolers for the past seven years. Previously I taught poetry in a high school, and composition and literature at George Mason University (where I got my Master of Fine Arts degree). In addition to homeschooling classes, I teach creative writing to children and adults in the DC area. My collection of poems, Cipher/Civilian, was published by Edge Books in 2005. Other works, including essays and translations, have appeared in anthologies and literary magazines. I homeschooled my own children for twelve years.
Maps Glover creates work inspired by human behavior and pervasive social issues. He illustrates how time affects behavior, and how observation alters perspective. He constructs portals in which the characters he creates exist and experience the world or maps around them. Often the works addresses emotion thought conflicting colors and distorted Characters. Maps has created works at Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Arts & Industries Building, Transformer DC, and more. His unconventional approach to expressionism evolves the birth of something new.
Anna Josephson is a homeschooling parent in the District. She grew up in Alaska, where she received Socratic seminar education starting at age 12. She is a published author currently shopping her first novel.
Katie Macyshyn has taught art and empowered self expression through workshops, creative group activities, and multimedia rituals in the DMV since 2013, when she graduated with honors from the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design. As an early childhood visual arts instructor, she encourages exploration of the foundations of composition through creative play. Macyshyn currently lives in Mount Rainier, MD and is from Toms River, NJ.
Holly Poole-Kavana was a budding botanist at a young age, and followed her interest to earn a BS in botany from Cornell University in 2000. She started studying herbal medicine in 2005 at the Pacific School of Herbal Medicine in Oakland, CA after her experiences with health care work led her to seek out new option for healing. She went on to apprentice with herbalist 7song at the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, participating in medicine making, free clinic consultations, and wildcrafting in addition to classroom learning. She also completed the Sacred Plant Traditions Clinic II program in which student herbalists see clients in a free clinic under the supervision of experienced mentors. She practices herbal medicine in Washington DC. She has led countless plant walks and taught a range of plant-focused classes to all ages, including to several local homeschool groups.
Peter Redgrave is a teaching artist based in Baltimore, MD. He has worked in education for twenty years. He taught in public schools for ten years during which time he focused on increasing student voice in the class room. He led middle school science, drama for K- 5, and third grade. He has presented at conferences, led workshops for adults and young people. He is currently interested in learning outside school settings.