BE THE WONDER

I have recently finished reading the book Wonder  by R.J Palacio . The book is a children's novel published in 2012.

The  book is about a boy named August Pullman, who is a  fifth grader  living in  Manhattan. He suffers from a severe medical facial disorder  where  his face are not the same as that of  a normal boy. His eyes are small, his jaw is twisted and he had to have many surgeries . He is being homeschooled  by  his mother. One day his parents decide to send him to a private school, where Auggie will have to face some experiences and to deal  with social issues.

He makes friends with Jack and soon begins his journey . He is bullied by some kids in school and gets heart when he hears what his s0-called  friends are saying about him behind his back. During his school year he is going to change and to come to terms with his face  and struggle with his syndrome.

I can relate to the story and sympathize with Auggie as a mother and teacher.

I have been teaching for the past nine years, most of my classes are special Ed students, communication classes , and students with hearing disabilities. These students go to the same school as regular pupils  and mix with regular students. Encounters between two groups lead to verbal violence and stereotypes.

As a society that educate the next generation, we must take in consideration that there are different people in the world ; some of them look,think,dress,love,spaek,feel different from what we had in our mind. It's ok.. We must encourage the young generation  to hear and to listen to the other voice ; it's fine not to agree but at least be human enough to respect others.

Auggie went through a lot of bad moments in his fifth grade. It took him a lot of courage to deal with the violent kids

I must add that as a mother of a six year old boy, I cried while reading the novel and felt as if I went through this journey.

One day my son came home from the kindergarden and told me he has no friends to play with and that he's sad. I remember standing in the kitchen as tears started to flow from my eyes .As adults, we take our own kids experiences into our hearts, and it hurts us as badly as it hurts our children

Today my son is in first grade , and he has many friends.Getting involved as a kid in school is the hardest thing,particularly when you are not the same as others.I believe that Auggie is a little bird that stays in each of us.

There are variety of people among us, some of them as Auggie.

Try not to be judgmental and mean - we are all human beings!!

Accept Unusual Give Up Stereotypes Today !

   

Rivka Aloni