2019 Articles

Educators Who Change Our Lives Forever

Murphy, Katharine

We were in a 5th grade classroom, working on a unit about narrative writing. Students had just completed personal narratives in which they depicted a challenging moment in their lives. The narratives were surprisingly frank and vulnerable. One student wrote about watching his baby sister being taken to China; another wrote about her dog’s death. These 11-year olds were writing about the most difficult and harrowing experiences of their young lives. I was moved, nearly to tears.