How can people help each other tell their stories?
In “Birmingham 9 to 5,” 17 people tell about themselves. You can assume that they didn’t just sit down with journalist Ann Walton Sieber and talk about their work lives in a way that Sieber could publish. No doubt she asked them questions on specific topics to get them going. Divide the class into pairs. Interview your partner, using these questions, which are adapted from the article. Of course, you can ask other questions that occur to you, but start with these. • Where are you from? What do you like and/or dislike about where you live? • What five words would you use to describe yourself? Examples: competitive, outgoing, optimistic. • What groups are you part of? What do those groups do? Why do you like (or not like) being part of them? What do you value about them? • What are your dreams for the future? If you could do anything you want, what would it be? Why would you do it? • What events—in your family, town, school, among friends—have had the biggest effects on you? • What assum
