Combining literature and solutions for positive change, Michael Gross, an English and History teacher at Northridge Academy High School in California, and his students are raising money for KIND’s work to help unaccompanied children.
The fundraiser is part of a project Michael created to teach his 75 junior and senior high school students about unaccompanied children through the book We Are Not From Here, a fictional novel by Jenny Torres Sanchez. The book is about three teenagers from Guatemala who flee danger to seek safety in the United States. Michael created a series of discussion questions to guide students through the book and when students successfully complete the questions on time, Michael donates $5-$10 to KIND. The class has raised $800 to date, and they aim to raise $1000 by February.
Helping Unaccompanied Children and Empowering Students
Michael learned about KIND through We Are Not From Here, which mentions KIND under resources. Reflecting on the project, Michael shared:
I want to empower my students. This project encourages them to achieve academically and know their ability to effect change. We all have tremendous influence—where and when we live especially—to help others. I want my students to recognize that and know that they can apply their education, experience, and knowledge to make a difference in the world. Especially in the current political climate. Problems exist, but we can empower ourselves and others to seek solutions and be a force for positive change.
Too often, we educate without circling back to personal fulfillment and the various ways students can find meaning and purpose and contribute to the world around them. As a teacher and adviser to various student clubs, I’ve always looked for opportunities where students can recognize their own power to effect change in themselves and in the world.
Michael, who has been teaching for 24 years, has led a similar initiative with his sophomore students called the Social Conscience Project, which aims to teach the art of rhetoric. Students pick a problem that exists in the world and then present the problem and potential solutions (usually linked to a particular charity or NGO) to a panel of alumni, who awards funding based on the persuasive power of the presentations.
Michael expressed gratitude for KIND: “Thank you very much for all your efforts. The fact that KIND exists gives us a meaningful way to contribute. The work you do is desperately needed, vitally important, and more inspirational than you can ever know.”
Stay tuned for a guest blog from Michael’s students in February!