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To provide an example
to her grade 5 students during silent reading period, Kaherawaks
Jacobs picked up the novel “The Broken Cord” by Michael
Dorris and began reading to herself. She was so engrossed in
the story about how an adoptive father struggled to understand
his son’s Fetal Alcohol Syndrome that it sparked the curiosity
of her students. In answer to their questions about the book
she was reading, she gave them a quick synopsis of what she had
read so far.
The next day, the students wanted to know what else had happened
in the book. Again, she gave them an update. These regular updates
took place until the teacher and her students had read the entire
book!
To her delight, Kaherawaks found out that the local high school
had a copy of the ABC movie “The Broken Cord”, which
is based on the book. She immediately made arrangements to borrow
it and obtained permission from the students’ parents to
allow them to view it. Of the two media, the students enjoyed
the novel over the movie and gave clear and sophisticated answers
when asked questions such as: Briefly describe what FAS is; Describe
the story of “The Broken Cord”; and How can FAS be
prevented in the future?
Feeling that the most important question asked concerned prevention
of FAS, Kaherawaks shares some of her students’ responses:
“They should be very careful if they are pregnant.”
“Don’t drink at all!”
“If someone is expecting a baby, tell them NOT to drink!”
“You can stop FAS by helping mothers to stop drinking, smoking
and taking dope!”
“Think of your baby’s life!”
“The mother should get treatment if she drinks, so that
the baby will be okay!”
“When you are pregnant, let people and friends help you!”
It is inspiring and hopeful to
hear such wisdom and awareness coming out of the mouths of 10
and 11 year olds. |
