A Bronx Tale: One Teacher's Song
Back to school season is upon us and with it the heightened rush for some, anxiety for others. For me, September is a time of renewal. A season of welcomed change to shake off the laziness of hot summer days, begin anew, dream up new projects, set goals. But it is also the time when I begin once again, to visit schools and students around the country, to talk about the power of story, books and how both can change the way we see ourselves and our world.
Each year I do nearly thirty school visits and by the time the school year ends, no matter how wonderful each visit, how well prepared, how magical the students and teachers and librarians, the fatigue of travel and hotel and being away from home and my routine begins to wear me down. Memorable moments stand out of course--kids brimming with questions, offering me ideas for my next book, sharing their own writing and drawings; impassioned teachers and librarians who go out of their way to make me feel welcome and appreciated; Caring administrators who sit in on presentations, setting literacy examples; and of course, parent and family volunteers who work tirelessly (says the former PTA president!) to bridge the gap between home and school.
But this year, on my very last school visit of the year in early June, tired and worn out by deadlines and juggling, I visited the students at P.S. 96 in the Bronx at the invitation of a teacher named Jake. Jake teaches fifth grade and a short time ago he read my book, Finding Langston, a book he said changed him. So much so, he told me, that he decided he wanted to share the book with his students by using it as grade level read and following it up by hosting the school’s very first school visit. He visited my website, contacted my wonderful booking agent Carmen Oliver at Booking Biz, and asked her to set a date aside. There was only one problem: His school did not have the funding to host an author for a school visit. So, Jake sought out alternative funding and when that failed, Jake took some initiative and started a GoFundMe page. A “Help Me Bring Author Lesa Cline-Ransome to P.S. 96” GoFundMe page to raise the funds for my honorarium.
My agent worked with his budget. Friends donated, his parents, a close pal from Japan, even an aunt he had shared the book with chipped in as well. Jake and the 5th grade students watched as the donations came in and cheered and hoped and somehow, some way, Jake met his goal and raised enough funds to bring me into his school.
Of course, I was unaware of all of this when I visited the school on my very last school visit in June. All I knew was that I was tired, and I was traveling two hours each way from my home in the Hudson Valley, by car, by train, by Uber to the Bronx.
But when I arrived, I was met with classrooms of the most eager students with the most wonderful, the most thoughtful questions I’d ever encountered. And of course, the most grateful and gracious teacher named Jake, who started a GoFundMe page to bring me to his school to discuss Finding Langston, a book that changed him.
The best part of the visit was the way that day changed me too. Students asked questions about the book of course, but we also discussed questions the book raised: racism , loss, insecurity, grief and trauma. I cried and I think Jake did too. Because my goodness, this is what happens when an inspired teacher gets ahold of a book he loves and spreads that love to students he loves and respects. As tired as I was, I left energized, remembering that you can never know how one story can impact a reader. Or how books can change them.
When I returned home, I wrote Jake telling him what the visit meant to me and I thanked him for his work in bringing me to his school. And he sent me this—a song he composed and performed, inspired by Finding Langston, which he gave me permission to share here. Take a listen and you tell me if teachers and books and the power of story aren’t the most wonderful things in the world.
