Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world.
Lois LowryRead
I always set out to tell a good story, to create a character that young people can relate to, place them in a situation that will be interesting, intriguing, eventually suspenseful. But what I find is that after I do that, then there are themes that emerge, which teachers can then use to provoke discussion and debate.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of storytelling in engaging young people and provoking important discussions.
Lois Lowry expresses her approach to storytelling, where she aims to craft relatable characters and compelling situations for young audiences. Through this process, deeper themes naturally emerge from the narrative, providing educators with valuable material to spark discussions and debates in the classroom, thus highlighting the educational potential of well-told stories.
In practice
This quote could be used in a workshop for teachers on how to incorporate literature into their curriculum.
Kids deserve the right to think that they can change the world.
Ellen had said that her mother was afraid of the ocean, that it was too cold and too big. The sky was, too, thought Annemarie. The whole world was: too cold, too big. And too cruel.
The man that I named the Giver passed along to the boy knowledge, history, memories, color, pain, laughter, love, and truth. Every time you place a book in the hands of a child, you do the same thing. It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things. [from her Newberry Award acceptance speech]
If somebody takes the time, a: to read a book that I have written, and then to b: care about it enough to write me and ask questions, surely I owe them a response.
I think when you've had success, publishers and reviewers and readers are willing to let you try something new if you've already proven yourself. They're excited about what you're doing, you have people interested in it, and actually waiting for it. It's empowering.
Most people remember being 4 objectively, as if they're seeing a movie of a 4-year-old. But me, if you ask me to think about when I'm 4, I can feel myself being 4, and I am there, looking out through my 4-year-old eyes.
Education doesn't need to be reformed- it needs to be transformed.
Learning is more effective when it is an active rather than a passive process.
I did not even finish my studies
A child who is protected from all controversial ideas is as vulnerable as a child who is protected from every germ. The infection, when it comes- and it will come- may overwhelm the system, be it the immune system or the belief system.
The aim of a college education is to teach you to know a good man when you see one.
To put it simply, school readiness means creating in this country a public love of children.
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