The group of Lee and TCPS students outside the Vest Building
(l-r) TCPS students Bailey Tumlin, Alex Chord, Niko Daniels, and Lee student Bethanie Hathaway with their C.S. Lewis presentation
(l-r) Lee students Tanner Henley and Taylor Booker with TCPS students Samuel Conar and Alma Smith
(l-r) Audri Wood, Donna Summerlin, and Dr. Jean Eledge, chair of Lee’s Department of Language and Literature
TCPS students Allyson Pope, Cassie Bonner, Olivia Eilf, and Mason Taylor with their Anne Frank presentation
Twenty-one Lee University English majors from Dr. Donna Summerlin’s Introduction to English Studies class collaborated this semester with 7th and 8th grade students at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School to research, create, and present projects about people whose words changed the world.
Presentation topics included Anne Frank, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, among others.
Groups consisted of two to three Lee students working with TCPS students.
The TCPS students were all from the English classes of Audri Wood, wife of Lee Professor of Humanities Dr. Randy Wood.
“I designed this activity for our students because I feel that it connects with students in all three of our emphases—literature, writing, and education,” said Dr. Summerlin. “Lee students were able to do research and read, incorporating the literature track; they focused on writers, incorporating the writing track; and they worked with younger students, incorporating the education track. The outcome was even better than we had anticipated, as all the students bonded well and several Lee students reported that the experience confirmed their decisions about majoring in English education.”
The two classes met several times throughout the semester to work on the projects, with students also meeting on their own time. All group members did reading and research and worked on posters, with Lee students also writing research papers on their assigned topic.
“The TCPS students showed themselves to be very intelligent, capable, and intuitive in regards to brainstorming ideas and insights,” said Clay Parris, a junior English major at Lee. “I don't know that I would have been interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer at all when I was in 8th grade, so the fact that these students did such a fine job in all of the groups speaks volumes about them as individuals.”
Poster presentations took place at TCPS on April 23 and at Lee on April 28.
For more information about Lee’s Department of Language and Literature, call 423-614-8210.