Every year in February I read my students the story of Ruby Bridges. She was a first grader in New Orleans, LA. She was the first African American student to go to a white school in the American South.
This is always one of my most powerful lessons of the year. The students sit with rapt attention as I read The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles and George Ford. They are first struck by the fact that this is a first grader who is making a HUGE difference in history. Secondly, they are struck by the fact that she doesn’t get mad at the protestors. The images in the book show angry people waving signs and shaking fists at her as she heads to school. Her family is very religious and not only does she not get mad at the protestors, she prays for them. The third thing that strikes the students is the fact that the white families were so opposed to integration that they didn’t send their children to school for quite a while. My students cannot imagine a reason their parents wouldn’t want them to go to school. We discuss what their parents might have done and what they would have felt if they were some of those students. They wonder what it must have felt like to be Ruby Bridges at school, alone with your teacher, for weeks on end.
The last question they always ask me is, “Does anything like this happen today?” When I share with them that it does they are fascinated. Where? Who?
I love the story of Ruby Bridges because it brings up the difficult topic of racism in a kid-friendly way. I also love the power it gives to the children. “Wow! If Ruby Bridges could do something like that, what could I do?” They find inspiration in Ruby’s courage in facing so many people who were opposed to what she was doing.
Gifted students think differently from others. They will come up with original ideas and will face opposition. Hopefully with a little inspiration from Ruby, they will stand by their ideas and confidently share them.
I was reading recently about Leta P. Hollingworth. When she started a program for gifted students in 1935 in New York City, she had biographies as a big piece of the curriculum. She felt it was important for the students to hear stories of the accomplishments and life paths of others so they could start to envision their own paths. She also wanted the students to develop attitudes they would need throughout life. I think perseverance and courage are two attitudes that will serve gifted students well.
My reading about Leta P. Hollingworth reaffirmed my desire to have a yearly homage to Ruby Bridges. It also made me want to find other kid-friendly biographies that young gifted students will find to be inspirational. I have found Teammates by Peter Golenbock, which is the story of Jackie Robinson’s friendship with Pee Wee Reese. I also really enjoy The Genius of Leonardo by Guido Visconti and Bimba Landmann. This book is full of descriptions and pictures of Leonardo’s inventions and has a fun subplot about his assistant which students always enjoy. I also have been keeping my eyes open for biographies of Galileo. He was another gifted individual who faced opposition to his ideas. I loved reading a grown-up biography of him but haven’t yet found one for kids that is very accessible. Please share biographies you have found to be accessible and have found to have an impact on young students.
By reading biographies we all see the paths others have followed and begin to imagine our own paths. We learn that there are challenges and the road is not always smooth. We learn new strategies for approaching difficulties. We learn that people can do great things. These are all important life skills. It is worth taking time to share these ideas with our students.
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