Empowerment

This last section called Empowerment wrapped up the book nicely. It provided stories which talked about the skills teachers gave students to be successful in life. Life lessons well beyond lessons from core curriculum. My favorite story was about Charlie. Charlie was this kid always making snide comments in class directed at other students or just in general. The teacher gave students the opportunity share out loud the journal entries they had written; a few decided to and during this time Charlie did not say a word. This was unusual because Charlie always had something to say. Instead, he approached the teacher asking for a journal himself in which he then read out loud. The other students had some sort of clarity and understanding of Charlie. They were able to connect with him differently than before. I liked this story because it sort of reminded me of the community that I want to build in my classroom. Not everyone is going to like everyone but it is important that they all feel comfortable.