Initiative focus was on empathy and kindness
One Book, One Community, a county-wide reading initiative of the Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition, came to a close at the culminating event held Monday, Nov. 6 at Kent State University at Tuscarawas.
The book chosen for the initiative, now in its 11th year, was “Wonder,” the story of 10-year-old August “Auggie” Pullman, a boy born with extreme challenges due to suffering from a severe craniofacial anomaly.
Headed up by Andrea Legg, the extension and technical services manager for the Tuscarawas County Public Library System, along with a dedicated group of volunteers, which included Cody Addy, Cherie Bronkar, Lauren Burris, Jessica Conley, Torey Conner, Denise Cooley, Emily Crilley, Sascha Durbin, Wanda Gray, Kathryn Green, Robyn Guedel, Dani Gustavich, April King, Donna Moody, Christine Pierpoint, Jan Warden and Louise Worsham, the planning began last January.
Legg said in her opening remarks, “This year we collectively walked two moons in Auggie Pullman’s moccasins as we read R.J. Palasio’s book, ‘Wonder.’ We felt the struggle, the pain, the strength and the undeniably fierce spirit of a boy with a craniofacial difference who is just trying to get through middle school,” she said. “You probably laughed. You might have even highlighted some passages, and if you’re like me, you probably shed some tears. But the beauty of it all is that we were all experiencing this together.”
In the last three months, nearly 1,600 middle school students in the region participated in the initiative by reading the book in class, 10 book clubs held discussions and regional public libraries hosted more than 20 programs that promoted kindness or celebrated another aspect of the book.
The Tuscarawas Philharmonic Children’s Chorus under the direction of Laura Barkett and accompanied by Carolyn Wallace performed “Wonder,” a 1995 song by recording artist Natalie Merchant, to get the program started.
Dr. Niyant Patel, a pediatric plastic, craniofacial and reconstructive surgeon at Akron Children’s Hospital, spoke about the work he and others do to increase the quality of life for babies born with craniofacial anomalies. Patel said that while appearance can be an important part of reconstructive surgeries, patients first must be treated so they can breathe and eat on their own.
“Too often people focus on the appearance of people born with these differences,” Patel said. “As doctors our first concern is the health of our patients.”
Former teacher and now the executive director for Changing Perspectives, a nonprofit organization that provides schools with a framework for improving disability awareness based on an understanding of the natural curiosity of children, Sam Drazin shared his story about living with Treacher Collins syndrome, a condition not unlike Auggie’s, the character in the book, “Wonder.”
Treacher Collins syndrome is a rare congenital disorder resulting in both facial anomaly and hearing loss. Drazin underwent seven surgeries as a child while attending his local public school in rural Vermont. His surgeries included reshaping his ears with cartilage from between his own ribs and a surgery that required doctors to break his jaw to reset it in a better position.
Drazin’s experiences, both as a student with a disability and as a teacher working in an inclusive classroom, made him recognize the importance of improving awareness and understanding of disabilities, which prompted him to start Changing Perspectives about four years ago.
Drazin said, “Empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s perspective in a given situation. Empathy is a really hard thing to master. It’s a conscious choice; it’s a vulnerable choice. We can’t expect kids to be naturally empathetic when we haven’t provided them with a strong foundation of awareness of differences.”
Drazin described empathy as being one of the most important 21st-century skills. “A lot of bullying out there is the result of ignorance,” he said. “The more that we can provide students with this foundation of awareness and in turn inspire greater empathy, a decrease in bullying and intolerance we should see.”
“Kids these days don’t need to be book smart to be successful in the 21st-century marketplace,” Drazin said. “They don’t need to be book smart because they can look anything up on their phone. What skills do you need to be successful? You need to be able to collaborate with others, you need to communicate with others, you need to be able to network with others and you need to be able to think outside the box with others.”
Drazin spent time earlier in the day speaking to more than 1,500 students grade 6-8 who were bussed to the Performing Arts Center, and then he spoke to students at Welty Middle School, where he shared his story and how it relates to the book, “Wonder.”
The Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition will choose the 2018 One Book, One Community selection at an upcoming board meeting later this month.
Visit them online at www.tuscarawascountyliteracycoalition.org.