By Paige Lambert
Amid discussions of sentence structure, analogies and narratives, students craft their own stories at the Hays County Juvenile Center.
The Sowing Education and Empowerment in Daily Speech (SEEDS) program is one of two summer programs at the Hays County Juvenile Center. For eight weeks 12 boys and 12 girls analyze literature, participate in debates and write for 30 minutes each day.
“For the first few weeks they just get used to one another,” Isaac Torres, program director, said. “By the third week they are hooked and realize their unique experiences overlap.”
The program began five years ago when Torres talked with public school kids about writing and sharing their own stories.
“I really got through to them and it was such an amazing experience,” Torres said. “I thought if I can teach these kids why can’t I do that with other kids.”
Torres said it is especially important for the juvenile center students to have that kind of opportunity.
“I tear up hearing these young people tell such horrific stories of their childhood,” Torres said. “Most of these kids have never had a chance to tell someone about what they have experienced.”
During the first summer, a student told Torres about accompanying his dad during robberies when he was very young. Torres said he saw a huge weight lifted off the student’s shoulders after telling the SEEDS class.
Along with reading a variety of literature and holding speech debates, students participate in the “Your Name is a Story” activity. They write out their childhood, including one achievement and one setback.
The students do the same for their future, identifying what they need to gain and lose to reach their goals.
“They have a chance to figure out what they want to be like,” Torres said. “Once we can see our life on paper we can write more and see the change.”
Brett Littlejohn, juvenile center administrator, said most students are behind in school and have low self-esteem before the program.
“They go into this not expecting to get anything out of it,” Littlejohn said. “They don’t realize it’ll help them catch up in school and lead to a more positive self-worth.”
Torres said he is always surprised at how a student’s skill level improves by the eighth week.
“There are so many diamonds in the rough here,” he said. “All these kids come with different gifts. They just haven’t gotten an opportunity to shine.”
Once all the stories are written, Torres publishes them in a book.
“Not a lot of kids get the opportunity to say they have been incarcerated and have a published book,” Littlejohn said. “It’s positive reinforcement to not go backwards.”
While the program is short-lived, Littlejohn said he hopes the students continue writing long after leaving the center.
“We’re dealing with kids who are usually here for only six months,” Littlejohn said. “Hopefully this will tap into the kids and become something they want and can do.”
