Better Together

Peter's essay is a powerful account of the teamwork of juvenile lifers and their supporters, working for justice throughout the country, both inside and outside prison. There is joy in the community of justice seekers that Peter has found, and hope every time “a juvenile lifer receives a reprieve.”

Demacian’s brief essay is an account of working with a team in his dorm to plan and carry out a successful movie nightallowing everyone who attended to “enjoy a good movie on a big screen, giving them a few hours to feel more like free individuals.” It's great to read about how team members' strengths were taken into account, allowing everyone who attended to “enjoy a good movie on a big screen, giving them a few hours to feel more like free individuals.” It's great to read about how team members' strengths were taken into account, allowing each person to be assigned a job "that they were extremely effective in.”

Albert's essay is about a time when the blocks that housed kitchen and warehouse workers at his institution were quarantined at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and a group voluntarily came together to complete those tasks. “When one person felt overwhelmed by a task,” Albert wrote, “one or two more were there to help pick up the slack.”

Shaquille's essay is about the collaborative teamwork that's needed to publish a book. Writing about his own experience, he reports that “after a lot of sessions with [his] publisher,” he was able to get his project into the proper shape, and that as he stayed with it, this hard work “began to become second nature.”

Dustin's poem, filled with wonderful rhymes, celebrates teamwork and encouragement in the weight room. "I can lift so much more with my team than I can on my own," he writes; "I've got more strength in my muscles, more life in my bones." By the end of the poem, we know he's talking about more than the weight room when he says, “If you want to go far, go together as one.”

Gardening is hard work, with a beautiful outcome. In this brief essay Danielle reminds us of two vital parts of effective teamwork: communication and "picking up the slack" when a team member needs help. Those two strengths allowed this group to maintain a flower garden, herb garden, and vegetable garden. Working as a team, Danielle writes, made the hard work fun.

Robert provides terrific examples of the contributions made by members of a variety of teams (whether "a band, a construction crew, or a restaurant crew"). He also also begins his essay with a great simile, comparing the members of a team to the strands of a rope.

Patrick’s poem “Two People” reminds us that not all teams are large. “Two people work together in unity, “ he writes, “trying to make it in this world.”

Gary's "Teamwork" poem is about finding unity despite "resistance from our differences / and pockets of in-fighting, harsh words." The character strength that makes that possible, Gary writes, is courage.

Besides writing a poem with lots of great internal and end rhymes, Anthony has provided an important exploration of citizenship here – specifically "responsibility toward one's community," which is a key component of the character strength of teamwork.