On October 7th I had the pleasure of participating in a “Virtual Author Visit” with a class of undergraduate students who attend Pace University’s School of Education. The class is taught by Dr. Elizabeth Smith, who is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Pace. The students are currently engaged in field work in elementary schools and pre-school facilities. The session focused on my first book, Jamal and Me, but my other two books were folded into the discussion as well. A link to a post about my visit can be found here.
Prior to the session, the students had read Jamal and Me and had specific questions about the book. A few of them included: Why did I write Jamal and Me? Was there a real Jamal? What strategies do you have for follow-up classroom activities? What strategies do you have for helping students make friends? During the ninety-minute session I answered these questions and many more.
Reactions to the visit:
“We were fortunate that in October Carol could visit the early childhood education class that I teach. She shared her books’ themes and had a wonderful dialogue with the students about her experiences as a teacher and administrator, particularly the impact of teacher (or principal) words and actions on a child’s life as depicted in Jamal and Me.
The students recognized that Carol’s book themes of kindness, empathy, collaboration and friendship can be shared in their classrooms to promote teaching the whole child, to nurture the idea that children can work together to make things better. Seeing the strengths in each young child and letting them shine through touches on the goals of the early childhood course and the values we want to instill in these future educators.
When Carol visits she always leaves the students wanting to talk with her more. She had conversations about how to use her books in the classroom, how to approach the issues of bullying and “the new kid” fitting in. Carol also shared her journey from educator to children’s writer and many of the students in the class could envision themselves writing a children’s book one day.
We can’t wait for Carol to visit again!”
Dr. Elizabeth Smith, Clinical Assistant Professor, Pace University School of Education
“I believe that learning about Randall’s writing process really aligns with the learning goals of this course. This truly is vital as future educators because we are no longer just the readers. We need to be able to ask our students questions about what they read. Not only ask them about main ideas, but really make them think about why the author wrote this book, or why certain characters acted the way they did in the book. I feel that Randall’s idea of reflecting her peers in her books is a great idea that I would truly appreciate as an aspiring teacher. Reading is something that students are able to enjoy in the classroom while being able to connect it to the real world. I want my students to be able to go to our class library and find books that reflect themselves, their peers, their family, and situations that happen in everyday life. When it comes to the book Jamal and Me, I would hope that when reading this story to my students, they would be empathetic to anyone that was like Jamal, regardless of his unacceptable behavior. This also allows for me as the teacher to understand how to deal with student’s that have trouble at school, and that the principal’s office is not only for students who misbehave.” A.R., Pace University Student
“One thing that touched me during Dr. Franks-Randall’s visit was when she said, “not all kids fall under special education, but still need some extra guidance” because I see this often with the children in my fieldwork class. One student in my class is extremely similar to Jamal which is why it upset me when Dr. Franks-Randall said, “black boys are suspended at a higher rate.” I believe that all students have potential and just need a teacher like Dr. Franks Randall to take them under their wing and help them along the way.
I value the time Dr. Franks-Randall spent with us because it was powerful to see and understand the steps behind writing a children’s book. Knowing the writing process makes me love and appreciate the book much more. Dr. Franks-Randall’s talk connects to my aspirations as a future early childhood educator because I would love to implement her books in my classroom as well as books she knows and loves.”
J.W., Pace University Student
“I really enjoyed listening to the guest author we had in class, Carol Franks-Randall. She gave such great ideas for what to do with the book after reading it to your class. My favorite one was when she said to use the character as a way to behavior check your students. It was something I never thought of doing and it is such a great way to get students to change their behavior. One last thing I learned was her process for writing a book. I have always wanted to write a book and to hear her speak about how she thinks about a book and then creates it, was wonderful. Carol Franks-Randall provided great ideas which I will definitely think about with every read aloud book I do.” J.R., Pace University Student
“Dr. Franks-Randall’s Jamal and Me, Talking Buddies, and Playground Heroes each discuss the themes of empathy, friendship, and collaboration. Jamal and Me emphasizes empathy in Jamal’s differences in behavior, friendship in him learning to interact with his classmates and with Dr. Toughlove, and collaboration between Dr. Toughlove and Ms. Iceburg. Talking Buddies and Playground Heroes both also follow these themes and teach important concepts of social emotional literacy.
Our discussion with Dr. Franks-Randall further reinforced the importance of children’s literature and the impact it can have on all classrooms, schools, and even entire communities. Books like Jamal and Me can act as a mirror, window, or sliding door, reflecting, teaching, or making a change in the mentalities of children. Learning about the importance of children’s literature and the book wiring process inspired me to want to write a children’s book myself someday. I hope to create a story as beautiful and as meaningful as Dr. Franks-Randall’s Jamal and Me.”
S.S., Pace University Student