Today's interactive read aloud came from A Chance to Shine. This seemingly simplistic book begs the sophisticated question, "how do we judge others?" Should we judge a “book by its cover”? "How can we give others a chance to shine?"
The book's protagonists - a father and son - ask a homeless man they encounter to come
eat with them. He smells funny and "looks" suspect, by the world's standards of judging. Because they have given him a chance to shine and they've treated him with the respect he is due as a human, he blossoms. The boy learns from his dad's modeled compassion for others and starts imitating this same compassion for his school age friends, giving kids that needed friends the chance to shine.The book generated valuable classroom conversation about how we should respond to those faced with difficult circumstances, how we can help, share, care, and give.
We also discussed how kindness can sometimes open us to vulnerability. All kindness, no matter how small, opens us both to vulnerability and joy. We discussed how being open to love involves the potential for pain and loss. When we love a pet, or especially another person, we have added happiness in our lives, but if something sad happens in our relationship with them, we can also experience deeper pain than if we'd just said, "I am a rock, I am an island...."
I also shared a brief summary of my favorite book of all time, Les Miserables. In this book, a debt convict, Jean Valjean, was deemed an outcast by all. He had stolen a loaf of bread years ago to
feed his starving nephew. He went to
prison doing hard labor for years. Now
on parole, no one would give him a chance.
He was universally rejected. He
interiorized this rejection. Finally
after even innkeepers refused to take his money, a gentle priest invited him in
for a meal.
By doing so, the priest took some risk. Valjean was struck by the trust he was finally given but he also found it difficult to escape his past and his fears. During the night, Valjean stole the silverware he’d eaten on and fled.
When
he was caught, he was brought back before the priest. The priest had already given him one chance
and could have denounced him, sending him back to jail. Instead the priest sacrificed self once more,
taking on more vulnerability. He gave
Valjean his precious silver and said, “This is your chance to shine. Be free from all the hatred you’ve
faced. Be free to love others like I’ve
loved you.”
Extensions:
Students read articles that help explain common reasons why people loose their homes. Unexpected expenses like medical bills, natural disasters, or lost jobs can quickly stretch anyone beyond their budget. On average, their are approximately 750,000 men, women, and children who are homeless in America. Students also were asked to imagine that they had 15 minutes to vacate their homes. All their valued possessions would have to be left behind except one small backpack. What would they take with them? What would they leave behind?
To respond to these materials, students are writing stories with the following guidelines:
Write a fiction story about someone who needs the chance to shine. What challenges do they face? Who steps in to intervene? How do things change?
Students read articles that help explain common reasons why people loose their homes. Unexpected expenses like medical bills, natural disasters, or lost jobs can quickly stretch anyone beyond their budget. On average, their are approximately 750,000 men, women, and children who are homeless in America. Students also were asked to imagine that they had 15 minutes to vacate their homes. All their valued possessions would have to be left behind except one small backpack. What would they take with them? What would they leave behind?
To respond to these materials, students are writing stories with the following guidelines:
Write a fiction story about someone who needs the chance to shine. What challenges do they face? Who steps in to intervene? How do things change?
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