My students need one more class set of the book, The Speckled People! We'e just 30 books away from all 140 of my students bringing home their own individual texts!
“Maybe your country is only a place you make up in your own mind. Something you dream about and sing about. Maybe it's not a place on the map at all, but just a story full of people you meet and places you visit, full of books and films you've been to." Hugo Hamilton, The Speckled People
My students enter our urban, public school by taking an exam.
They don't come from wealthy families, in fact 60% of our school population falls below the poverty line. They are predominantly bilingual and upon admission to our school, attend what is statistically the most diverse school in the state.
My students are smart and hard-working. They have parents who are engaged in their education, even if they don't speak any English at home. They come to school eager and happy to learn.
My Project
Giving each of them their own text to use in school and at home acknowledges their hard work and that they deserve the same kinds of enriching resources accorded other hard-working students in more highly resourced districts. 7th grade is an important year for making friends and finding their way in this large, urban school. The Speckled People is a text that creates discussion forums in which my students may learn from each other, and share safely, their cultural and linguistic uniqueness--connecting other students to who they are as individuals.
I want my students to each have their own copy of this book to take home.
It is a text that speaks directly to the multicultural population of students I teach. The Speckled People spurs us forward in writing and discussion about ideas around identity and language--ideas that are vital to my very diverse population of students.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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