Education

I'm just finishing a YA novel, The 9:09 Project, about a high school boy whose mother had died. His way of staying connected to her was with this project. Photography, writing, family and friends with, of course, a focus on finding himself and love, it's a great read. But, like literature can do, it's connected me to my younger self, but also to other books I've longed for teachers to use as a spring board to their content. 

This is from the past when a student suggested Speak for my room library. A book with an art project ultimately helping to heal and give strength to a girl in crisis, I've continued to see it as one of the best. 

John Green's novel, An Abundance of Katherines, uses math as a focus for a boy prodigy in high school learning to navigate relationships.

For science (and history), there's The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (the first of three books). Set at the turn of the 20th century with a young girl working to find her place in the world, it made a fine impression on me, a non-science person.

And only one of so many through sports, there's The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander, on basketball, growth of self and place in family.

Education can be about gathering and knowing facts, yes, but so often it can be so much more. Novels can be the gateway for finding ourselves, learning empathy, and seeing the world in a new perspective, all while learning some important facts along the way.

Novels Connect