History Unfolds – In the form of a book

“Kendall , you need to pick out a book to read this semester.” I let one of our 9th grade boys know as I walked past him to talk to another student who’s hand was raised. As I was walking back to the front of the sanctuary I saw the Kendal, the young man I had spoken to earlier, still looking through all the books and reading the backs of them. I stopped for a moments taking the scene in. There was nothing extraordinary about it. He was being obedient and trying to find a book. But his mannerisms spoke volumes. He was really looking and not just grabbing one so I would be satisfied; but was taking his time to find a book that he would enjoy.
All of a sudden I remembered a book that I had ordered, ( The Story Of Bilma – A Holocaust Survivor) with Kendall in mind and I hadn’t shown it to him yet. --- 2 summers ago we took the Middle and High School students to Washington DC for Summer Camp. While we were there we visited the Holocaust Museum. The students were taken back, sad and angry as they finished the exhibit of the horrific acts that happened in the not so distant past. On the way out Kendall and few others met Mr. Alfred Philip Feldman, a Jewish Holocaust Survivor. The Kids had found a HERO and Mr. Feldman had found a group of students that knew very little about the Holocaust and were eager to listen to his story. We took a group picture with Mr. Feldman and bought a copy of his book that he happily autographed for us. When we got home different students wanted to borrow the book to read. And found out quickly that it was at a reading level that they had not attained yet. So Mr. Feldman’s book was returned in reverence to my book shelf.---
I came back by about 10 min latter to find Kendall completely wrapped up in “The Story Of Bilma” with his hand raised. As I walked over he kept his eyes on the page yet asked me for a piece of paper so that he could write the name of the book down for his teacher. “I’m going to give this to my teacher,” he informed me, “We should read THIS in class!” To me it was a small miracle. To others it may be nothing. But, here was a boy with has plenty of struggles of his own that had made a connection with history. He is learning to hurt along with others, to be angry at injustice, and to speak up! And even though he doesn’t realize it, he is learning the invaluable lesson of reading for knowledge and not only because the teacher says so. Yes, this indeed a day worth writing about.