Three days and two nights at the Broarwood Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania. is the end of the year retreat for the fifth graders. August has never been away from home overnight before. During an outdoor movie Auggie and Jack ran into a few boys from another school who began harassing them because of Auggies appearance and size. To the boys surprise, some boys from their school came to the rescue. Amos, Miles, and Henry were ready to do anything that they had to do to protect Auggie from these bullies. After one of the boys had grabbed Auggies hoodie and made him fall backwards on the ground Amos bolted into the guy as hard as he could while someone else grabbed Auggie and they left in an all out run. When they all returned to school, "The first thing I noticed was that there was a big shift in the way things were" (pg 282).
The students at Beecher Prep realized that there was much more to August than what was showing on the surface. He was a smart boy with a great sense of humor. Mr. Tushman read out of a book written by Beecher which said, "'Greatness,' 'lies not in being strong , but in the right using of strength....He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts"' (pg304)...then he called August up to receive the Henry Ward Beecher medal.
August was a brave young man. Stepping out of the comfort of his home and caring parents and facing the scrutiny of teenagers, who at times could be very cruel, took a great act of courage. He is a great role model for all the children who have special needs or as what we early childcare people say, "special abilities".
No comments:
Post a Comment