So many schools have connected with me because of how much their students have responded to The “Tail” of Rugby Jones: A Rascal’s Journey from Disability to Ability. This past week was an added pleasure for me.
What a joy it was to speak at the 12th and Marion School in Reading, Pennsylvania this past Monday. I spoke at two assemblies as the culmination of the One School One Book project which used The “Tail” of Rugby Jones as their special book.
If you are unaware of what the One School One Book project is, please allow me to tell you. It is a program that is utilized across the country in an effort to create a shared reading experience among all students in a school. Every student in every class listens to the reading of one book and is offered the opportunity to ask and answer questions about the book and the messages that the book presents.
I must say that the level of respect, interest, courtesy and enthusiasm of the children at this school warmed my heart. They asked insightful questions. They were the personification of what students should be. They exemplified the effect that devoted, sensitive and caring principals and staff can have on students when they insist on accomplishment and respect.
One of the questions that made the biggest impression on me was, “What made you write this book?”
My answer was, “Rugby taught me that I needed to share the message to all kids and adults that everyone is different. We all have things wrong with us. There isn’t a person in this world that is perfect. We must accept that about ourselves and about others. We should never focus on what we can’t do but instead focus on what we can do. We are not disabled in any way. We are all just “dif-abled.”
Since the day that I spoke to the children at the 12th and Marion school, I have been filled with the understanding that in spite of what we hea
r in the news, kids today have not changed. They are still filled with enthusiasm and the desire to learn, accept and respect…as long as that is what the adults in their lives model.
I offer my kudos to the principal at 12th and Marion, Mrs. M. Renee Billops because she is the epitome of what a principal should be. It’s the person in charge who makes the difference in a school. Without strong guidance and example, schools can’t succeed.
As my mom used to say, “The proof is in the pudding.” The students at 12th and Marion are the proof in that pudding!
