Teaching and Community Work

Creative expression, self work, and community are at the core of everything I do. I facilitate subjects such as storytelling, poetry, and environmental sciences to empower students and help them self-actualize. I prioritize using multiple intelligences and approaches — incorporating movement, small group work, and individual reading/writing time, in addition to a larger lecture or group discussion. I have grown wheatgrass and raised butterflies with Kindergarteners, written community plays with elementary students, created superhero stories at an honors middle school, facilitated workshops on trauma-informed teaching and tree communication to adults, and taught urban farming in high-security youth detention centers.

My own practice as a writer and educator emphasizes vulnerability as a strength, and my writing lives in liminal, uncomfortable spaces. To that end, my classroom is an inclusive environment, where students can feel liberated to take risks and experiment without judgement. My goal is to have all my students feel heard, understood, and valued. I believe I am most effective as a teacher when my students are energized to create and learn outside of our class time together — and, perhaps more importantly, to build deeper connections with each other.

If you have any teaching or community engagement opportunities, please feel free to reach out to me at mk(at)mary-kinney(dot)com.

“Before, when I first heard about creative writing, I wasn’t all that excited […] However, as we got into it more, creative writing began to be more fun and interesting. I also absolutely LOVED writing about my superhero. It was fun and it triggered my imagination.” - 6th grade student in end-of-residency reflection