My students live in a world that is fast-paced and accelerating all the time. In a competitive school/community environment of high expectations and little free time, it can be difficult to motivate students to slow down and savor learning.
I want my students to enjoy life and not just endure it.
I want them to find passion and beauty in their education and their relationships at school. Learning should be joyous, and it should inspire hope and spontaneity and innovation. I'm on a mission to bring that color to the lives of students who sometimes can't see the forest for the trees.
My Project
Neil Gaiman’s brilliant lecture for the Reading Agency, delivered on Monday, October 14, 2013 at the Barbican in London, outlines many reasons why he believes libraries and reading will save the world. Among those, is the reason mentioned above: that fiction is a gateway drug to reading, and reading is a gateway to information, knowledge, and engagement with the world. Graphic novels like El Deafo and Maus help demotivated readers to break into that world.
Another, perhaps more important reason to read fiction is that it builds empathy.
And empathy seems to be the balm that our world sorely lacks at the moment. Prejudice is broken down when we live inside other people's stories for a while. Books like Brown Girl Dreaming and Ender's Game helps us to imagine the realities of those who are different than us, whether that is in a past, present, future, or fantasy world. And it is my hope that my students will both enjoy the thrill of a story and be better people for the time that they spend getting to know the world through fiction.
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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. Weinheimer and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
