 "Photo: Courtesy of www.kidstalkstory.com")
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Writing takes a lot of passion, discipline and commitment. If you say you're going to write a novel, by Harry Potter's scar you've got to sit down and really work your wrists until something other than sweat fills up your pages. If J.K. Rowling can sit on moving trains and write stories on paper napkins, why can't everyone else?
That's why people like Margaret South, director of Kids Talk Story, come along to inspire kids to write their own happy endings.
Kids Talk Story provides an after-school writing program that encourages public and private school kids to write about any topic, ranging from personal experience to college admission essays. It also provides services like public speaking, writing workshops and book publishing.
Despite their success, however, South wants to further expand her goals around the world…but she's going to need help.
"My goal is to make Kids Talk Story the best company in the world for its employees," South said. "We're just starting out. We just have about 40 teachers right now."
The company is looking for college students and graduates to apply for part-time job openings. The qualifications required include being adept at writing, language arts skills and enjoying working with children between kindergarten and high school - being bilingual or experience helping special needs students is a plus.
South says these openings are especially valuable to those who are on the education career path.
"We are looking for people who are interested in making a career out of this, and we're finding that if people follow the company, they really enjoy what they're doing," said South. "We have a great team; our view is to build a major corporation located in Hawai‘i that'll provide jobs for UH graduates."
Before teaching students, employees will have to go through a paid training period of eight hours and, if employees want to further their career, they can get more training.
Working with the company would improve a résumé geared toward a teaching career, since Kids Talk Story is getting nods from the Department of Education.
"The DOE is very supportive of what we're doing," South said. "As a matter of fact, we were given special status to provide our program through the No Child Left Behind Act and the federal government will pay us to go into Title one schools where children might be eligible for services."
Aside from the DOE's recognition, teachers have also praised the company's services.
Judy Baker, a teacher from Palama Settlement, offers her testimony on the program: "The kids (aged 12-17) are court ordered to attend high school here at a program called ICTP (In Community Treatment Program). They do so, for the most part, quite reluctantly. Kids Talk Story, taught by Margaret and Frank, has been the single best catalyst for these kids to share their feelings and experiences that I have witnessed in my years here."
So if it's writing on napkins or publishing for the next midnight bookstore madness, Kids Talk Story needs people to hop on their Hogwarts train-rides to escort kids to their own literary fantasy.
"Our company has a wonderful atmosphere for its employees and we believe what we say, 'if you can write your own life story, you can write your own happy ending'. That goes for our teachers as well as our students," South said. "I want all our employees to feel that they have a voice in the company and that they can affect the direction of the company."
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