Secret Ways : Character Building

Mary McLeod Bethune
Eloise Greenfield

I recently reread this biography due to a global issues topic we were covering at school. We were on a search for inspiring women in history who were pioneers in the struggle to improve rights for women in an array of particular times and places. I had first come in contact with her about 15 years ago when Chuck and I were scouring library shelves for well-written biographies that could be read aloud to young children. (More about this author further down.) I had never heard of Mary McLeod Bethune up until that point, but after learning about her inspiring life we decided we needed to purchase a few versions of her story at various age levels. I was freshly inspired by Bethune after reading this biography last week.

Mary was a child of former slaves. Her parents struggled to own and farm land in the south after the war. When, as a young girl, she had a hunger for learning, her parents allowed her to pursue her dream despite the family's need for all the children (17 of them!) to help on the farm. After achieving this goal, she felt that other African American girls should have the same opportunity so she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in Florida. In 1923, the school merged with the all-male Cookman Institute of Jacksonville and became the Bethune-Cookman College. She was the school's president for two decades while also pursuing social justice issues at local, state, and national levels. This is an inspiring tale of a girl who rose from poverty to pursue every opportunity to better herself and also the lives of others; and, it is all contained in this readable account for children ages 9 -12. Isn't that an amazing feat for a writer!

Since then, I have had my eye on Eloise Greenfield. Everything I read by her conveys her belief that literature is a powerful vehicle by which children can learn about themselves in meaningful contexts.Whether it is through the melodies in her poetry or the ease of her storytelling in both fiction and biography, her mission for children comes through. But I should introduce you to her passion in her own words. In her book Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir she describes growing up happily in a close-knit neighborhood. In the introduction she says:
People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. A war, an invention such as radio or television, a birthday party, a kiss. All of these help to shape the present and the future. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.

Therein is a theme I have repeated several times in this blog. Parents, tell your children the stories of their ancestors! Take Greenfield's advice that the stories do not have to be dramatic or filled with life-changing events. I recall my mom telling me about huddling around the radio with the family as news about World War II unfolded. That conjured up the picture of a family in a living room being together. I also remember that she told me she was given a nickel every week to spend and that she usually bought penny candy. That was a happy picture and the impression it had was that even in hard times her parents gave her a little something to make her skip and smile. These are powerful and lasting images.

The list of awards that Eloise Greenfield has won is a long one. One website search will bring up many articles. While this one by the National Council of Teachers of English is older (1997), it tells her story well and includes her awards and publications.
http://www.ncte.org/library/nctefiles/about/awards/greenfield.pdf

The Story of Ruby Bridges
Robert Coles

In 1960, Louisiana began the desegregation of its schools at Franz Elementary School in New Orleans. Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to attend an all-white school in the South  Federal marshalls had to accompany this six-year-old little girl as she walked up the sidewalk to the school amidst the jeers of an angry racist white crowd. For several months white parents kept their children home from school in protest, and Ruby entered her first grade classroom alone. This is a story of courage and faith, one which served as a catalyst for desegregation to continue in schools throughout the South.

I have read this picture book version of the story to students in grades four to eight. At least two messages are clear and powerful: dignity in the face of adversity and forgiveness. To enter into the times and feelings of this event more fully, I also recommend the movie that was made for TV in 1998. It can now be purchased as a Disney DVD. (98 minutes) Other inspiring characters are fleshed out in the movie. Children see how this was not an easy decision for her parents who struggled between the high cause of desegregation and the impact on their daughter. They knew how Ruby's actions could inspire others and pave the way for other children to live in a more just society; yet, they understood the peril of exposing her to the hostile mob. What is particularly striking (and encouraging to me) is that the movie portrays how racist white people could actually change their views.

Note on Robert Coles: 
Coles is a child psychiatrist, professor at Harvard University, and author of books with titles such as The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination, The Moral Intelligence of Children, and The Spiritual Life of Children. He feels that we learn our most lasting moral lessons through stories. Among his many awards, he has received the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the early years of looking for literature that would build character in children at our school, we stumbled upon Coles. As we sought to describe how it is that stories have power to kindle and hold the moral imaginations of children, his writings provided eloquent support.

Several months ago I shared several quality biographies about Abraham Lincoln for early to middle elementary grade children. This second installment provides a few titles for the middle to upper elementary age group. Comments are welcome! Share your enjoyment of these books or let us know about other good biographies of Lincoln.

Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North
This biography for middle school and junior high students recounts the many obstacles Lincoln faced and portrays how his disposition and wit enabled him to continue on his interesting path from poverty to the presidency. I admit that I singled this book out of the many offerings on this subject because I love the author! Sterling North wrote the story called Rascal, one of the most beautiful stories for children and adults ever written! There is a Sterling North Society in Edgerton, Wisconsin which celebrates his literature and good children's literature in general.
http://www.sterlingnorthsociety.com/

Sterling North was commissioned by Random House to write a biography about Washington and Lincoln for the Landmark Biography Series. This is one of the original books of the series.


Abraham Lincoln by William Jay Jacobs
In the fourth and fifth grades, we have used this biography as a read-aloud in our opening times at school and also for a class book to be read by all students. Jacobs accomplishes both a well-written narrative and a clear portrayal of Lincoln's virtues.


Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
You cannot go wrong when you pick up any history or biography book written by this author. Freedman incorporates reliable historical research - including photos, letters, and speeches - onto the pages of his books. Every book of his presents an engaging account of a topic, person, or era in history. This stunning book won the Newbery Medal in 1988 for the manner in which he combined nineteenth century art and historical photographs with appropriate historical writing for children. He knows how to handle complex societal and political issues in a way that explains topics such as slavery and elections to children without weighing down the text. He covers Lincoln with depth and in a manner that is well-rounded; while he does not exaggerate Lincoln's virtues, his story portrays the greatness and importance of our 16th president.


Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years by Carl Sandburg
This won the Pulitzer Prize and for an older reader and lover of Lincoln it is a wonderful (though lengthy) biography. It was originally published in six volumes, but it has been since published in one volume. When it was written, it was considered one of the finest biographies of the time. In Sandburg's poetic style he seeks to discover what makes a man great.

Elizabeth Blackwell: A Doctor's Triumph
by Nancy Kline

Blackwell bravely struggled to become a doctor during a time when society shunned women in the medical field. Her persistence throughout the obstacles and ostracism she faced in medical school is truly inspiring. This was one of the first biographies I read almost 30 years ago when I began the search for readable inspiring stories to share with students. The impression has stayed with me until now.

If you can't find this particular story, there have been several others about her published over the years. If you read another good version, publish a comment and let us know!

I hesitate to assign grade or age levels. These levels are general suggestions due to the fact that younger children probably would not have the stamina to listen to the longer books. Also not all content is suitable for younger children. But all ages would enjoy hearing or reading the stories on the list marked for PreK-4.