How It All Works

THinK is an extracurricular activity designed for elementary school students by high schoolers. Every other week, there is a lecture given by the mentors through an online network conference application (we have used GoToWebinar and GoToMeeting as our primary conferences programs) to the elementary school students.

The lectures start with a brief biography of a famous writer, to get the students familiar with and interested in a wider range of authors

Afterwards, the lecture focuses on a specific aspect of writing (such as onomatopoeia, or varying sentence length). The newly introduced concept is internalized through a series of creative writing exercises, which allow the students to incorporate their imaginative ideas in an interesting way. Specific word games emphasizing the concept of the week are suggested for family play, again contributing to the fun factor.

After the lecture and exercises, there is a question and answer session, where students can freely ask questions to the instructors about anything they’ve learned. When every last question is answered, the session ends. Shortly following the session, a homework assignment is posted. This homework assignment requires the students to write a creative story, using the creative technique learned in the corresponding session and any others learned in previous sessions.

This story is submitted by a deadline (usually a few days before the next session) and graded by the instructors. The instructors make constructive comments and edits with regard to grammar, word choice, and appropriate use of creative techniques. The student receives this feedback immediately.

The process behind THinK is a very interactive one, which gets all parties involved (parents, students, instructors) in the process to work towards the common goal of improving the students’ writing.

-David Kim

Why YOU Care

Why exactly is THinK so important?

Think of it this way - THinK is an educational initiative started by students, for students. We know what it’s like to be students. We know that sometimes, the school curriculum just doesn’t cut it. As we have noticed, school systems don’t necessarily teach the fundamentals of writing coherently to students. A traditional English curriculum taught in the Fairfax County school district covers literature and grammar, but concepts like wordsmithing and sentence variation are rarely taught, if at all. We know from personal experience that writing isn’t necessarily taught all that well in schools.

I am especially aware of the inability of students to write in a professional manner. I, too, felt confused by the concept of an essay - how should I know if this sounds strange, or if that doesn’t support the argument well? Even after attaining straight A’s from every English class I took in in elementary school, I was still unable to write a focused essay. Whenever I was assigned such an essay, I would be overtaken by anxiety. It was only through my own initiative, through observation of political speeches, reading books outside of class, and hearing typical dialogue, that I began to understand how to write well.

So you could say that I turned out well in the end. However, that’s not the case for everyone. I am still, as a junior attending the number one ranked public high school in the nation, surrounded by people incapable of writing comfortably. They continue to make basic mistakes, and there are holes in the logic of their arguments.

We realized that this need to be patched early on - and so THinK was born. Our mission is to help students at a young age learn to write effectively and creatively. We provide a different approach to learning how to write. After all, we were once elementary school children struggling with writing too. We understand the pitfalls of the standardized writing curriculum, and we teach and supplement students’ writing education as necessary.

THinK is currently offering only writing workshops, but there are plans to expand to other subjects in the not-too-distant future. With student experience, we can effectively troubleshoot the conceptual holes in students’ understanding of a subject, whether it be writing, math, or history.

-David Kim