The Love of Reading

I am happy to share the following excerpt from a paper by one of my students, Erin Almand, who took Social Justice in spring 2009. Herein, Erin refers to her “insertion” work at Kingdom House in Saint Louis and the several books she read in our class….

What Kingdom House has shown me is another example of how all of mankind is just alike. We might have different skin color, family traditions, religions, or cultures, but we are one. Chan Khong wrote about this idea. She traveled all over the world to bring a message of love and “oneness” to the globe. Her message of love is a lesson to all of us, as are the children who attend Kingdom House.  I think the insertion requirement and the course material go hand in hand.

We are able to put our beliefs and what we have read about into practice, real life experience. It is one thing to read books and discuss topics in a classroom, and it is quite another to live out those ideas on a daily basis. The insertion falls hand-in-hand with the message of each book we have read—to an extent.

For Goldberg, you must do what you love. If you love serving people, great. Do it. if you love the idea of serving people (just like loving the idea of writing), that’s great. Go do it. if you hate the idea of serving people (like hating the idea of writing), try it. You might surprise yourself. Chan Khong is all about love. What better way to show your love for people than to serve them, to fight out against social injustice?

In Baghdad Burning, Riverbend’s main message is that we are all the same. We are all alike. As Mev would have written, “The struggle is one.” We, the human race, are One. Each person deserves certain rights, and if we have those rights, we must seek justice for those who have had their right stripped away.

Mev exemplified all of these ideas throughout her life. She used her love and passion to bring about awareness and call out social injustices. Mev is all about love and grace, and doing service is a way to show love and grace to others. Simply because of our skin color and nationality, we are privileged. Mev wanted to make it so that everyone was equal—men and women, blacks and whites, rich and poor.

In Unbowed, Wangari worked for women’s rights. She saw social injustices and spoke out about it—even though it cost her her reputation as a “good African woman” and eventually, her husband. All of the books we read in class dealt with social injustices in some way. I believe that any work on issues like the ones we read about in class should be considered “working for change.”  I am confident that all of these women would advocate the social issue I have decided to bear: the education of our children. This class has affected me so much, and my service at Kingdom House did, too.

I plan on returning to Kingdom House in the Fall—even though as an upperclassman Micah, I am not required to do any service. The books we read have also inspired me. Goldberg has had a particular influence on me. I re-started up my blog and have fallen in love with words again. I have always had a secret desire to be a poet. Who knows, maybe someday down the line I’ll owe my poetry success to this class! I know that I will continue giving back to the community around me. I love people so much, and have such a compassion and spirit to serve.

After college, I am toying with the idea of going to Graduate school, probably for my doctorate  or masters for Theatre for Young Audiences. I know that I want to work with children and if I could incorporate that with my passion for theatre, life would be grand. (Of course, life will probably be grand no matter what I end up doing). I do think that I will end up being a teacher, director, or actor for children’s theatre. We shall see.

What I am certain about is my love for the class and all the wisdom I have gathered from it. I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and wish it didn’t have to end.  I will never forget the lessons I learned, the stories and readings people shared, and the books we read about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. In my days at Kingdom House, I would often remind myself: “Just like me, the children at Kingdom House want to be happy. They don’t want to suffer.” Now I will say, “Just like me ___(insert name)____ wants to be happy. They don’t want to suffer.”