Wildcats See Through the Eyes of a Tiger

I am a 9th and 10th grade English teacher in a rural, high-poverty community in South Carolina.

The majority of my students come from single-parent households. Many of these parents (or grandparents) work long hours to support their families, and though they have the desire, they have few resources and limited time to invest in their children's education. Gang violence is high and many of my students see mere survival as an accomplishment. Because of this, reading is generally not at the top of their priority lists. Most of my ninth-graders read at about a fourth grade reading level, and this adds to their frustration. Due to the circumstances my students face, finding books that relate to their life experiences, hook them into reading, and spur them on to becoming life-long readers is a challenge.

I need a class set (thirty copies) and the teacher's guide for Sharon Draper's book, "Tears of a Tiger," the first in her Hazelwood High trilogy. This novel has been proven to enrapture readers from the first page. One of my former students, a typically non-responsive, reluctant reader, obtained of a copy of this book after hearing about it from another student, and voraciously read the entire series in less than three weeks. I have seen other students find this book and ask to be put on a waiting list to read the next one. The novel is written at a level that my students can understand while still serving enough of a challenge that their reading skills can improve. It also deals with situations my students can relate to, and studies show that if students can connect to a book and then find a measure of personal success in reading, they will continue to expand their horizons. "Tears of a Tiger" contains snippets of various genres, as well (newspaper articles, journals, letters, poetry, etc), which helps reinforce the basic reading skills ninth-graders need.

Your help will inspire students to read and unlock the doors of their minds to the wonders of what lies within the pages of a book.