e book fair) the other day that made me really start thinking about the way kids view each other around that really awkward few years between being a cute little kid and being a independent almost adult. I guess they call them the tween years these days. The years where the body changes are fervent and the friend selections are brutal. Those are the few years where the differences kids have are spotlighted and put under the microscope. Things as small as wearing glasses or what kind of lunch box you have have make or break you. It is so easy for kids to get lost in the fight to be just like everyone else that they forget what it might be like to be really different. The book, Out Of My Mind by Sharon Draper, really helped to take me inside the mind of difference. The book is told from the mind of an 11 year old that was born with severe cerebral palsy. She is bound to a wheel chair and is unable to talk or communicate in any way except the most primitive. She drools and can't feed herself. Her mind is perfect though. More then perfect as a mater of fact she is brilliant. It details her story from inside her head. The way her differences make the other kids see her. How the hurt spills onto her over and over again. She finds a way to communicate and gets what she thought she wanted but in the end she could not over come the way the others saw her but it did change how she saw herself. I wanted so badly for the end to wrap everything up in a bow and for her to be happy and accepted. Even though that didn't happen I think the book showed some more important things about differences. It showed that by being different you sometimes have to dig deep to find what is truly important. Judging people by who they appear to be is never a good idea because under the surface there is always something deeper and more revealing. Just like when you go to the library and choose a book solely on the cover you might miss a very touching, life affirming story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works with children and to everyone entering into that stage where you are faced with being judged or judging by first impression. Really I think that reading this book would benefit everyone out there who needs to be reminded of just how important it is to open your mind and your heart to new and different things.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Outside the Box
I am often drawn to differences. I like to make choices that are out of the norm. I find it makes me happy to be who I am even if it might not make others feel that way. It has taken me 38 years to get to the point where I feel this way. Even now making the choices and being looked at as different feels rotten. I read a book (that happened to come from the fifth grade book fair) the other day that made me really start thinking about the way kids view each other around that really awkward few years between being a cute little kid and being a independent almost adult. I guess they call them the tween years these days. The years where the body changes are fervent and the friend selections are brutal. Those are the few years where the differences kids have are spotlighted and put under the microscope. Things as small as wearing glasses or what kind of lunch box you have have make or break you. It is so easy for kids to get lost in the fight to be just like everyone else that they forget what it might be like to be really different. The book, Out Of My Mind by Sharon Draper, really helped to take me inside the mind of difference. The book is told from the mind of an 11 year old that was born with severe cerebral palsy. She is bound to a wheel chair and is unable to talk or communicate in any way except the most primitive. She drools and can't feed herself. Her mind is perfect though. More then perfect as a mater of fact she is brilliant. It details her story from inside her head. The way her differences make the other kids see her. How the hurt spills onto her over and over again. She finds a way to communicate and gets what she thought she wanted but in the end she could not over come the way the others saw her but it did change how she saw herself. I wanted so badly for the end to wrap everything up in a bow and for her to be happy and accepted. Even though that didn't happen I think the book showed some more important things about differences. It showed that by being different you sometimes have to dig deep to find what is truly important. Judging people by who they appear to be is never a good idea because under the surface there is always something deeper and more revealing. Just like when you go to the library and choose a book solely on the cover you might miss a very touching, life affirming story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works with children and to everyone entering into that stage where you are faced with being judged or judging by first impression. Really I think that reading this book would benefit everyone out there who needs to be reminded of just how important it is to open your mind and your heart to new and different things.
e book fair) the other day that made me really start thinking about the way kids view each other around that really awkward few years between being a cute little kid and being a independent almost adult. I guess they call them the tween years these days. The years where the body changes are fervent and the friend selections are brutal. Those are the few years where the differences kids have are spotlighted and put under the microscope. Things as small as wearing glasses or what kind of lunch box you have have make or break you. It is so easy for kids to get lost in the fight to be just like everyone else that they forget what it might be like to be really different. The book, Out Of My Mind by Sharon Draper, really helped to take me inside the mind of difference. The book is told from the mind of an 11 year old that was born with severe cerebral palsy. She is bound to a wheel chair and is unable to talk or communicate in any way except the most primitive. She drools and can't feed herself. Her mind is perfect though. More then perfect as a mater of fact she is brilliant. It details her story from inside her head. The way her differences make the other kids see her. How the hurt spills onto her over and over again. She finds a way to communicate and gets what she thought she wanted but in the end she could not over come the way the others saw her but it did change how she saw herself. I wanted so badly for the end to wrap everything up in a bow and for her to be happy and accepted. Even though that didn't happen I think the book showed some more important things about differences. It showed that by being different you sometimes have to dig deep to find what is truly important. Judging people by who they appear to be is never a good idea because under the surface there is always something deeper and more revealing. Just like when you go to the library and choose a book solely on the cover you might miss a very touching, life affirming story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who works with children and to everyone entering into that stage where you are faced with being judged or judging by first impression. Really I think that reading this book would benefit everyone out there who needs to be reminded of just how important it is to open your mind and your heart to new and different things.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It's truly one of the best books I've ever read and left me wanting more, more, more!!! Of course, you know some of the pages were heart-wrenching for me to read but it's a beautiful story filled with so much truth...I'm so grateful my 5th grader chose it from the book fair :)
Post a Comment