Chapter 9! Rachel Mosher

Creative Connector:

P. 156: Reggie’s office visit due to the racist comments:

I have mentioned this several times in other blogs, but this topic is a reoccurring event throughout the chapters in this book. The issues surrounding bullying and name-calling are issues I have said over and over again that I do not tolerate and one issue I hope to see changing more and more throughout our country. It’s devastating to think of the poor students who are subjected to bullying and name-calling and it blows my mind that those students in our schools these days have the hardest time sharing kind words with one another. I can’t put a number on how many times a day I remind students in my class to use “nice words” and remind them to be polite and respectful to each other. We as teachers need to take a stand to end bullying and name-calling for students such as Reggie and create a safe and welcoming environment in our classrooms.

P. 157-158: Reggie’s confrontation with cop brutality:

WHAT?! When I read this paragraph and quotes on what the police officer had said I was extremely shocked, hurt for Reggie, and to be honest, pissed off. This outrages me that an authority figure such as a police officer, someone who has taken an oath to serve and protect their town or city would behave this way to an innocent bystander and especially a child. Now, I’m not saying all police officers act and behave this way and I know there are cops out there who do the right thing and protect their towns, but I haven’t had the greatest experiences and confrontations with cops in my past either. Nothing to the extent of what Reggie faced, but, whenever I have found myself in conversation with a police officer, whether it is getting pulled over for a ticket or in a downtown setting, I honestly have never once been addressed kindly or felt that I was treated fairly in my opinion. I know they are police officers and they have to be tough, but when it comes down to having a decent conversation, we are all human beings and it’s about having respect for other people and talking respectfully, especially to people you don’t know. I felt for Reggie throughout this chapter and how his future opinion and perspective on other police officers that he will come into contact with throughout the rest of his life will be changed for the worse because of that horrible encounter, which is truly disheartening.

P. 170: “What I learned in church is that you supposed to treat people the way you want to be treated. Treat your neighbor as yourself. We gotta be kind to one another. I know times might get rough, but we all have our good and bad days.”

Enough said. Reggie says it all in a few short sentences of what we should all carry around with us and something we should all think about. I hope on my worst days I think about some of the things Reggie says in his passage the way he looks at life, even after everything he has been through. He still looks at each day as a new day to do something great and treat others with respect, no matter what, no questions asked.

Essence Extractor:

Be kind to everyone you meet; we are all fighting our own secret battles.

Idea Illustrator:

I decided to take the theme of “anti-bullying”, going off of Reggie’s main points made in his passage. Here are some fun ones I found and possible ideas for creative posters to be hung in a classroom!:-)