Wonder How We Look Beyond Ourselves?
by Teresa SullivanMiddle School English teacher
Reflection begins with the self, and this is the level of reflection adolescents are most comfortable with. When students are reading a great book, they naturally ask themselves, "What does this text mean to me?" But we want them to move beyond the self and into deeper levels of reflection. ... In asking our students to reflect, we want to push them beyond the self and encourage them to think in terms of the outer circles of reflection.
(from Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12 by Kelly Gallagher)
At The Country School, Willa Ridinger and I have worked with our 7th Graders during our reading of Wonder by RJ Palacio and our extended STEAM unit with Steff Smelser. Through cross-curricular activities involving science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, our students learned what it was really like to step inside someone else's shoes. (Or in this case, someone else's skin, calling to mind the words of Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the books these students will have a chance to read next year: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.").
This unit demands that our students take off their blinders and practice kindness and compassion for others. However, at The Country School not only do we teach kindness and compassion through the novels we read, but we strive to live this through our actions. From our Mission Statement, “We encourage our students to look beyond themselves, to work cooperatively with others, and to serve their communities and the larger world. We expect much of our students, because we believe they have much to give.”
Presented with this graphic, our 7th Graders took time to articulate how they as individuals and we as a community show kindness and compassion to ourselves, our families, our peers, our community, our country, and humankind. Here is a sampling of their responses:
What does Wonder mean to me?
We should be thankful for what we have and be more respectful and kind to those who are less fortunate. Once I read Auggie's point of view, I don't want to be mean; I want to be nice.It means to me that every day is not going to be a great day. Some days there might be a storm and damage is done, but the storm will pass and things will become better.
I learned that people really do have ailments like this and they just can't do some things, but that is no excuse to make fun of them and tease them. Everyone should be treated with respect.
Wonder gave me an awareness about kids with disabilities.
It helped me learn that kids with disabilities are just as smart kids without.
It reminds me to stand up for people like Auggie.
What does Wonder mean in terms of my family and close friends?
When my family sees a kid who has a disability, we will try to make him feel comfortable in the environment.If you have a friend with a disability, stand up for your friend if other people speak badly about them.
What does Wonder mean in terms of my community?
If everyone read Wonder, they would treat people differently.What does Wonder mean in terms of thinking about my country?
There are so many people in the US with a disability and we should be kinder to these people.What does Wonder teach about humanity? What universal truths/precepts does it contain?
Humans have a tendency to be afraid of the unknown, which means they can be mean to try to cope and conceal their fear.I have learned from the book Wonder that not all humans will behave normally. There are always outliers and haters, but there will always be more kind people.
Respect other countries’ differences and uniqueness.
To learn more about the Wonder curriculum at The Country School, click here.
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