If you know
me, you know that my heart pumps printer’s ink. I am all about literacy, both
in my professional and in my personal life. Being the book nerd that I am, my
job as a literacy coach is like getting up and going to the carnival every day.
I love what I do. Every day is fun. Every day. And today I loved it even more.
My work in a
high-poverty elementary school brings its own set of challenges. Many of our
kids have tough lives outside of school. Housing instability, food insecurities,
imprisoned parents, and the chronic stress that goes with poverty all take
their toll on the kids I pass in the hall every day. You can see it. You can
feel it in the acting-out behaviors that send a steady stream to the door of
the principal’s office. I look at those faces and wonder what I can do. Wonder
how I can help. So much need…
My looming
dissertation will orbit around (wait for it….) literacy, so about a year ago I asked
our principal if we could try something at our school. I have these theories about
literacy and the ability of a really good book to lower stress levels, inspire
the hopeless, model determination and grit through a well-crafted story line,
and build community among our children. It’s all that printer’s ink flowing
in my veins. It makes me incredibly optimistic and annoyingly passionate. There’s
a pretty impressive mountain of research to back most of those ideas, too.
And so…
… shortly
after Christmas break, a cadre of fellow teachers and I hung mysterious posters
around the hallways, built suspense to the point of some really funny theories
being tossed around, and launched our first ever, after-school Book Club.
Our objectives
were simple. Let’s get into small groups and talk about the books we love. We
hoped it would fan the flames of literacy-love for those students already
active readers (those that read for pleasure outside of school hours). And maybe,
just maybe, we might pull a kid or
two into the fold that was sitting on the fence. We also wanted to get books
into the hands or our club members. Books to keep with no library due dates.
Books they can read in bed while eating a PBJ sandwich. Books that will become
a part of the fabric of their lives.
We appealed to
our district’s philanthropic foundation about funding our venture. They were
immediately on board. They asked if we had asked for enough and offered us
more! We took it.
My principal
warned me that anything held after school that required parent transportation might
be an issue. Holy cow, he was right. I won’t go into details, but suffice it to
say my team and I spent some long hours trying figure out how to get a kid or
two home.
We had zero
idea if there would be much interest or participation. We sent the permission
letters home and waited. We were shocked when a full third of our student
population returned with signed, green permission slips!
For ten weeks now
we have met on Tuesdays, provided simple snacks, divided into (mostly)
manageable groups, and talked about books. We didn’t require them to read
specific books (choice is power), but let them bring the books they were most
interested in. We teachers facilitating groups did the same. It always brought
a smile to my face when one of the kids would share about their
book-of-the-week and another kid in the group would pipe up, “I want to read
that!” I keep a pretty substantial library in my office of my personal children's literature
and I have had a steady stream of kids in and out my doors to borrow the books
I mentioned during weekly club meetings.
I.absolutely.LOVE.that.
Tonight was
our last club meeting for the year. Two weeks ago we gave out Scholastic fliers
and let each member choose one book to order. Honestly, some of these kids have
probably never been able to order from a Scholastic flyer. They were really excited. We surprised the members
with a pizza party tonight, and gave out their chosen books. It was truly a
celebration. The mood was festive and full of anticipation. The joy and
laughter was infectious. I looked around at the library filled with kids and
knew we had hit every one of our objectives. And a few we hadn’t dared to hope
for.
There was the
student who declared in the beginning he didn’t want to come but his mom made
him. Two weeks ago he brought not one, but TWO books to share and nearly
exploded waiting for his turn. There was the student who confessed that he is
nervous about middle school next year and asked hopefully, “Do you think they’ll
have a book club, Mrs. Dahl?”
Books change
lives. I have never doubted that. Before we dismissed for the night, I asked the
group if anyone wanted to share something they had enjoyed about book club.
Hands went up all over the room. They liked having other people to talk to
about books. They liked spending time with teachers outside of school hours.
They liked being with their friends. (One kid whispered to me conspiratorially,
“I just came for the snacks.” I’m cool with that). They liked hearing about
other books. Every time I tried to shut down the comments, a frantic face would
plead to be heard.
Most touching
to me personally were the gifts handed me by these precious children. Wait. You
brought me gifts?!? A juice box hoarded from a second-grader’s snack. A stunningly
colored, intricately-cut, head from two fifth-grade girls. And an oddly-shaped,
folded paper. I started to unfold it thinking there was a message inside. “No,
Mrs. Dahl!” The fourth-grade boy stopped me. “There’s nothing inside.” He looked
suddenly unsure of himself. “It’s…a diamond,” he finished softly. And so it
was. These children have so little. They brought their tokens of appreciation
for something that had apparently meant something to them.
I have high
dreams for these kids. Maybe, just maybe, a book club will play a small part in
helping them find theirs.
