Show Me, Don’t Tell Me: Empathy, Solidarity, and the Teaching of Writing

Blog Post

Jun 11

Written by Jaime Balboa

When leading a writing workshop, instructors will often say to a student, “show me, don’t tell me.” By this we mean, don’t just assert your case or list facts, opinions, or emotions. Instead, create scenes, deploy sensory detail, and let actions, dialogue, and imagery lead the reader to the conclusion you’re hoping for. Draw the reader in and make the reading experience so vivid that whatever you might otherwise assert doesn’t really need mentioning. Take this quote, for example, from 826LA student Daniela: "El Salvador is full of bizarre magical places, with purple and gold skies where people smile at you, dance, and sing at the top of their lungs but it is a country where people have nowhere to live, where the economy is not enough to survive in." (Daniela C,. “Mi Corazón Llora y Suspira.” Memorias Grabadas, edited by Beltran, W., and Leon, A.M., 826LA, 2023, p. 10). Makes you want to read more, doesn’t it?

Research shows that this way of writing narratives increases empathy toward other people because the writer has to imagine divergent points of view. Similarly, reading well-crafted narratives builds empathy in the reader because they are exposed to and begin to understand divergent points of view.

As I write this, there’s a lot of news coverage about the federal, state, and local responses to protests happening in Downtown LA. Some of the news coverage is accurate, some hyperbolic, and almost all of it misses an entirely critical point of view: the perspectives of the members of our Los Angeles community who have been shaken by the relentless ICE activity. If you want to understand what’s so beautiful about Los Angeles and why Angelenos would take to the streets to protect it, let me show you. Take a look at some of our published student pieces.

Consider “On This Side of the Border,” an oral history written by Luis L., then a high school senior, which documents the absolutely harrowing journey of a teenage boy who traveled to our country, guided by a coyote, risking his very life to provide for his son. (L. Luis. “On This Side of the Border.” Scenes from the Heart, edited by the ALC Student Editorial Board, 826LA, 2023, pp. 25-28.)

Less weighty, but equally compelling, is Is the Oven On? A Manual Arts High School Cookbook. In it, students share family recipes and introduce the reader to the multicultural backgrounds of their favorite dishes. From “Black Soup” (p. 50-51) and “Coq au Vin” (p. 56-57) to “A la Diabla,” (pp. 76-77) students invite the readers into their family meals, their holiday traditions, and to meet some of the loved ones who first cooked for them.

Memorias Grabadas (Recorded Memories) was written by high school students from El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Honduras. English language learners all, they “were tasked with connecting songs to people, moments, or places they wished to immortalize. The outcome was a collection of vignettes inspired by the students’ experiences, each carrying messages of hope, joy, love, and healing,” (Beltran, W. “Introduction.” Memorias Grabadas, p 3.)

For twenty years now, 826LA has shown our solidarity with our community by being an integral part of our community. We create safe, joyful third spaces for students so that they can hone the power of their words and experience the powerful platform of publishing. We recruit volunteers from within our community because the diversity of views, perspectives, and people create rich learning environments for our students. And when we publish the writing from our programs, we bring student voices to a broader audience.

Over a third of Angelenos were born someplace else, myself included. We come together and form a culturally vibrant place to call home. When we’re at our best, we love and care for our neighbors–neighbors whose stories can be glimpsed through 826LA student writings. I invite you to add our student books to your summer reading lists. You’ll see on full display the empathy and care with which they wrote. As you read, I’m sure you’ll gain a better understanding of the very human stories of Angelenos that are being occluded by current news coverage.