After reading Just Mercy last year, I brought my highlighted, post-it covered copy into my classroom and gave it to a young woman in my Junior class. Cynthia read the book in two days and came back into class tearful about how much she loved it, but also crying about how sad it made her. This sparked a movement within her. She went from studying the sciences to loving Language Arts, reading, and the law. She transferred from the STEM program and signed up for government and politics, and became one of the leading members of our champion-winning Mock Trial team.
Cynthia will continue to pursue her love of law and justice next year as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, studying political science and law.
“We all have a responsibility to create a just society”- Bryan Stevenson
Cynthia’s is just one story to come out of my classroom the past few years. My students want to become educated on the world in which we live, to become an active participant. Unfortunately, there is a lack of books that deal with social justice in our curricula, as well as the country’s. The ones I do have fly off my shelves, often never to return because the students pass it from eager reader to the next. I want to give them the tools to come up with their own educated views on this ever-changing world in which we live. I want them to see the injustices all humans face, all over the world. I want them to make informed decisions based not on my opinions, nor the opinions of their parents, but of multiple sources of men, women, children, organizations, philosophers, politicians, the rich, the poor, the fortunate and impoverished.
About my class
After reading Just Mercy last year, I brought my highlighted, post-it covered copy into my classroom and gave it to a young woman in my Junior class. Cynthia read the book in two days and came back into class tearful about how much she loved it, but also crying about how sad it made her. This sparked a movement within her. She went from studying the sciences to loving Language Arts, reading, and the law. She transferred from the STEM program and signed up for government and politics, and became one of the leading members of our champion-winning Mock Trial team.
Cynthia will continue to pursue her love of law and justice next year as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, studying political science and law.
“We all have a responsibility to create a just society”- Bryan Stevenson
Cynthia’s is just one story to come out of my classroom the past few years. My students want to become educated on the world in which we live, to become an active participant. Unfortunately, there is a lack of books that deal with social justice in our curricula, as well as the country’s. The ones I do have fly off my shelves, often never to return because the students pass it from eager reader to the next. I want to give them the tools to come up with their own educated views on this ever-changing world in which we live. I want them to see the injustices all humans face, all over the world. I want them to make informed decisions based not on my opinions, nor the opinions of their parents, but of multiple sources of men, women, children, organizations, philosophers, politicians, the rich, the poor, the fortunate and impoverished.
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