The Passion and Compassion of an Eight-Year-Old

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This week, in one of my classes, we discussed editorials.  The topic of the editorial we analyzed was the American Flag.  The article stated facts about Old Glory, and its care. The House of  Representatives passed a law making it illegal to mistreat the Flag.  The debate was whether having a law protecting the Flag against destruction and disrespect was necessary, or whether it took away the freedom of expression by the people and trusted them to protest peacefully and instinctively respect the Flag.  The passage was followed by several comprehension questions and one final open ended entry asking how the author felt about the law.  

I have to admit, I've struggled to reel this group of boys in while reading some of the sometimes bland, and sometimes difficult comprehension pieces.  This day, though, they rose to the occasion and demonstrated so much conviction.  They all knew that the author felt that the law took away people's right to express themselves, yet they all angrily wanted that law to protect our Flag.  One young man would not write the author's opinion after that last question because he disagreed so passionately.  I assured him that he did a fabulous job expressing himself, and that I agreed with his opinion, and that answering the question on the paper was just a formality and would just be done to complete the assignment...which was to answer the question that was asked.  He finally agreed, and when all was written, I asked the boys to talk some more about their feelings on the issue. Never have I taught the concept of opinion, and had such a rewarding response from a group of eight-year-olds!

My best days as a reading educator are those that elicit real thoughts and feelings about things other than reading.  Those boys fulfilled my wishes of the day: to facilitate a meaningful discussion, to add a notch to their learning scale, and, whether they realize it or not, to encourage them to becoming better readers.......

........some sessions are good, some are bad, but this one was the best!

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