Emerging Scholars

There are two books that I think the students in the emerging scholars program should read. I could not choose between the two of them so I will discuss both!
“Esperanza Rising” would be a great choice of a book for these students to read because I really believe that they would connect with her. Esperanza is thrown into a situation and she does not really know how to deal with it. In the end of the story, however, she prevails. If these students were not previously considering college then they are probably in a situation where college is discourages or not an option. By reading about a girl who had to deal with so much at once, from her father dying to having to flee the country, they will understand that they are not alone in their struggles. Esperanza is a really good role model because she manages to come out of her struggles alive, well, and a better person. This is a success story that hopefully they will want to relate to. The students probably already have some motivation to learn since they agreed to spend their summers doing work, so they will probably want to connect to Esperanza’s success story and even create their own success story. The only problem I have with this book is that it may be a little young for students in high school. Since the reading is easy, the teacher would have to go very in depth with the message in the story. The teacher would also have to emphasize the connections until the students made them.
Another book that I think would be great to read is “Black and White”. I really enjoyed this book and I think others would as well. It is definitely suited for their age range, so the teacher would not need to stretch her lesson quite as much to make them relate to the book. “Black and White” features two boys, each incredible at basketball, during their senior year of college. Throughout the story, choosing a college is a constant conflict in their lives. The both have plenty of options because of their basketball stats, but don’t know exactly where they want to spend their next 4 years. Even though this is not the same situation the students are in, they still will be able to relate to hearing about college in school and having friends that are going to college. Even though Marcus goes to jail in the end, he still is planning on going to college once he gets out. This teaches students that even if there are obstacles, they still can find ways to get through them and get an education. Since they were not “college bound”, they can use this book and the characters in it to discuss why they were not considering college and whether or not the emerging scholars program made them change their minds.
Although these were the two that immediately popped into my head, I think that most of the books we have read would be of value to them because the books feature an adolescent who overcomes a struggle.