Jake reminds me of a student that I had several years ago. He loved dirt bikes and cars. He was from a working class family. He didn’t plan on going to “college, college” (as he put it) but maybe a school for mechanics. He didn’t need to do all that stuff. He was smart, but lacked all interest in school. He would sit there staring at the wall at times. He would pretend to read during any free time or sit and draw. I struggled because here sat this boy that I couldn’t reach. I couldn’t let it go. I tried to pick out books that were related to cars and dirt bikes. He read them and loved to share the connections he made, but he HATED, HATED writing and HATED school much like Jake. I tried different ideas and topics throughout the year to engage him. He already had modifications sense he was learning disabled, but really that wasn’t the key. The key was how to peak his interest. SO I decided I wanted to use various picture books to teach a little about the civil rights movement and develop an empathy project. We read Rosa, Martin’s Big Words, The Other Side, Freedom on the Menu, and Show Way in various groups. They discussed the books in their groups and shared pictures and important ideas. This students’ group read Giovanni’s Rosa. I was surprised at how empathetic he reacted to the story. He was angry for Rosa and the way she was treated. We had been discussing empathy recently and he was very adamant that people should be treated equally and respected. I had them create a visual reaction to the story it could be a picture, a model, a collage, anything visual as long as they could articulate how it related to their story. This child was beaming with excitement when he came in. He had spent four hours constructing a Lego model of the bus that Rosa rode that day. In a brief paragraph, he articulated his frustrations at why someone wouldn’t want to sit next to another person just because of their color. He was proud. I finally got him passionate about what he read. By allowing him to create something as a response, he was in his mechanical, hands on mode. I allowed him to be successful and triumph in class. That was what he needed. In the project that followed. They had to research a social injustice. He chose child marriage. He was angry and spent several days, which was very unlike him, working with me after school to get it just right. I was so impressed. In a very unexpected way I connected with him. That is so key and that was the connection that Jake needed. Reading this further confirmed for me the values I place on developing relationships and making connections with my students.
Amy Hardister