I Believe: The College Essay Meets Bull Durham

The following is a guest post written by Allison Karpf

When I taught at Ridgewood High School the first assignment I would give my English students was to write a poem in the format of the Bull Durham Credo. I had picked up this idea when I was teaching at Hillsdale High School in California while a graduate student in education at Stanford.

I gave the students the following prompt:

 

Assignment: Credo/I Believe Poetry*

In the movie Bull Durham Kevin Costner’s character is asked what he believes in. His answer provides us with a poetic format. By following the formula below, tell what you believe in.

BULL DURHAM CREDO

I believe in the_________________________,
the____________________________________,
the____________________________________,
the____________________________________,
the____________________________________, _______________, ________________________.
But (something you don’t believe in, e.g. “but the novels of Susan Sontag are self-

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Author: Karen Latimer

Dr. Latimer is a Family Physician and Wellness & Parenting Coach. She works with parents who want to feel more confident when helping their children and coaches young adults to help them better navigate college life and transitions. Contact her at drkarenlatimer@gmail.com to learn more. She is the author of two Audible Originals, Take Back the House -- Raising Happy Parents and Worry Less, Parent Better.

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