My World Literature students speak 32 different languages -- from Albanian to Urdu to Tibetan. We are a Title I school, and 57% of our students receive free or reduced lunch.
Our school offers a special early college program in which students earn their Associates degree as well as a high school diploma. The program is tuition-free and provides a remarkable opportunity for young people who may not otherwise be able to afford a full four year college program. Our school has received awards and recognition, including praise from President Obama in his July 16, 2009 speech to the NAACP!
However, despite the fact that our school has gained national recognition, we lack funds to create a World Literature Festival. Thanks to generous citizens and foundations who used DonorsChoose, we received enough books for half of one class. Now, we'd like to purchase books for the other half of the class that would explore other cultures such as Panama, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. These are cultures that our students have requested to study this semester.
The World Literature Festival will help students develop the literacy, communication and public speaking skills needed to succeed in college and beyond. I also believe that this festival will introduce students to a more sophisticated way of thinking about the world's history, politics, geography and religion, which may help them make more informed decisions about their college majors. The books I have chosen offer a rich introduction to these areas.
To prepare for the festival, each student will research a different author from all over the globe. They will write both analytical essays and creative responses to the author's work, such as poems, songs, art, or skits, which they will share at a festival with international food and music. Parents and the whole school community will be invited.
Through this Festival, students will learn a great deal -- not only from their own author studies, but also about the authors their classmates researched. Teenagers always want to read what their friends are reading, so this festival will increase literacy across the whole school. All books purchased for the Festival will be donated to the school library afterward, so students will be able to read these books for years to come.
A review of one of the books on my list perfectly captures my motivation for the festival. It says that this collection of stories "goes beyond the sensational headlines to reveal the stories of Pakistani women. Immigrants and refugees, travelers and explorers, seasoned authors and fresh voices, the twenty-five writers in this volume are as dynamic and diverse as their stories."
This is exactly what I hope to do with the World Literature Festival -- "go beyond the headlines" to give students a fuller understanding of the world.
Your generosity would enable us to launch a school tradition of World Literature Festivals, while helping build a library that will be the heart and soul of the school. Thank you so much for reading this essay!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Rehman and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.