One of our local public elementary schools invited several adults in the community to school today. Each of us talked about our favorite children's books and their authors and then, read a some to them.
I read the first chapter of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to about seventy fifth-graders, preceded by giving the students a little background on Lewis' life.
The kids seemed really into it and I had a fun time interacting with them.
I'm happy to be in a community where the local school district, the nineteenth largest of Ohio's more than 600, tries to maintain strong ties with folks. Every year, for example, something like 200 local residents join high school teachers in listening to graduating seniors' presentations of their Senior Exit Action Projects (SEAP). These are interdisciplinary projects that the seniors begin working on in the fall of the school year. In addition to a faculty advisor, they also have a person in the community who is their general advisor. Over the past two years of judging, I've heard and seen presentations on automobile design, entrepreneurship, anorexia among high school and college wrestlers, criminal forensics, and a host of other topics.
It's sort of vogue for people to cast stones at public education. But in our district anyway, there's a real desire on the part of educators and administrators to forge partnerships helpful to the young people. I'm sure that all of this works to the benefit of our students.
6 comments:
Sounds delightful!
I tutor in reading and creative writing as part of our local public library's literacy program. It's a privilege to help out educationally in any way we can.
It was a ton of fun. But it was only a one-time gig. What you do is really impressive, Deborah. And it's important, too!
Blessings!
Mark
What a lovely post. As an ex-first grade teacher, I'm delighted to hear you think so highly of your school system.
Did you think to email this post to them? I bet it would mean a lot to send it the principal and the superintendent. Just a thought.
smiles,
Liz
Mark, The head of our local library's literacy program would love for me to write a book about the successes of the program. It does have a remarkable and unique record with hundreds of volunteers helping adults and children from all around our area....at no charge.
But no one buys books about libraries or literacy, and that's the "bottom line" in publishing today.
What do you think? I suppose I could make the human interest angle extra-compelling....
Deborah:
It's interesting that you say this. While in Louisville at the Boys and Girls Club Midwest Regional Leadership Conference week-before-last, we were updated on a book project that the national organization is helping Denzel Washington to compile. The book will be composed of snippets of text written by Denzel and interviews he conducts with a number of people.
The original "pitch" was that Washington would present interviews with people who, like himself, had been B&G Club members as children, with each talking about the impact that had on their development. Washington and Alex Rodriguez are two quite prominent B&G alumni and each speak of the pivotal role the clubs and their professional staff and volunteers played in steering their lives in positive directions.
The publisher liked the idea, but didn't want it to be about just B&G mentoring. So, something like half the profiles will be B&G-based. The balance will deal with pivotal adult/children relationships that helped young people grow up with some positive sense of self and of life's possibilities. In essence, it will be a chronicle of how adult encouragement helped young people from unpromising circumstances break through to happy adult lives.
My point in bringing all that up is that a book like you're describing might be marketable if you expanded the breadth of your focus a bit.
I am certain that you're a fine enough writer to tackle such a project! I think it would also be of benefit to a lot of people, if for being inspired alone.
Mark
Liz:
I probably should do that.
Mark
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