March 24, 2008 (Vol. 7, No. 5)

Bronx Institute Students Learn Life Lessons Through Reading

Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, recently visited Lehman to speak to two hundred ninth-grade students enrolled in Bronx Institute programs. The students, who were required to read the book in their home schools, listened as Beah read from his book and discussed his experiences growing up in Sierra Leone before and after the country's civil war.

Beah spoke about his idyllic childhood growing up in a small rural village, where he awoke to bird songs, the fragrance of mango trees, and early morning dips in a nearby river. He explained that children were not given toys, but used their wit and imagination to build things out of twigs, branches, and leaves. In the evenings, he gathered with other children and listened to his grandfather tell stories of traditions, family history, rights and wrongs, ways of living best in the world, and how being alive was a gift that brought with it the possible. He went on to describe how his life suddenly changed when the ongoing civil war reached his village, and he was ultimately forced to join a band of boy soldiers.

During the question-and-answer session session that followed, one student, who emigrated from Sierra Leone in 2000, emphasized how much he related to the story and how he still felt he could not move far enough away from his suffering.

"It was a transformative evening, and an important one," said Professor Herminio Martinez, executive director of the Bronx Institute. "Ishmael spoke of the significance of identity and culture and the necessity of education and the importance of each individual."

Sponsored by the Bronx Institute in collaboration with the New York Public Library, the event was one in a series of "author talks" designed to enhance children's reading experiences. Students enrolled in Bronx Institute programs receive three novels a year for their home libraries and participate in reading circles.

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