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Farragut Middle School loves to have visitors!
We often invite people who can teach us more about subjects
that we're studying,
or who can open up new and exciting vistas about the world
we live in.
Click on a name to meet them and see some pictures.
 | Ed Lessing, Hastings resident,
speaks to students about being a Jew in wartime Europe.
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Joanna
Featherstone visited 7th grade Language Arts classes in January of 2000.
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Eli
Thomas visited 7th grade language Arts classes, in conjunction with
Social Studies, in December of 1999. |
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Jennings
Michael Burch, author of They Cage the Animals at Night, his
harrowing story of growing up in foster care, talked to our 7th graders. |
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Mr. Ed Lessing, a Hastings resident, spoke
to students of Facing History and Ourselves and World of
Difference on Thursday, January 24th, 2002.
Mr. Lessing was born in Holland. As a Jew in wartime
Europe, he spent 21/2
years of his youth in hiding from the Nazis. Mr. Lessing captivated
students with his moving story of the heroic people who hid him and the
unbelievable escape of his immediate family. Students will remember his
powerful message to act against hate crimes and to celebrate heroes both
in history and our day. |
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Joanna Featherstone
introduced us to the rich and vibrant world of Black poetry through
dramatic readings.
December, 1999
Eli Thomas visits Farragut Middle School
Art and story telling are two ways that
Native Americans share their culture. Eli Thomas is famous for his work
depicting the oral traditions and cultural symbols of the Onondaga Nation and
the Indigenous American experience. His paintings and stories focus on the history and culture of the
Onondaga people along with his personal symbol, the wolf. Seventh graders at
Farragut Middle School are currently studying Early America in Social Studies
with Mr. Marcotullio and Mr. Cecere, and reading Dances With Wolves in
their Language Arts classes with Mr. McKim and Ms. McGivney.
Mr. Thomas demonstrates the unique
perspective of Indigenous Peoples on the interconnectedness of nature and
humans, and shares many personal anecdotes concerning the perceptions of a
visual artist and his struggle to be true to his vision and heritage.
Jennings Michael Burch
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| Jennings Michael Burch, the author of They
Cage the Animals at Night came to Farragut Middle School in April of
2000, to talk about his life experiences growing up in foster homes.
With his helpmate "Doggie" and a strong will to endure, he
managed to survive a foster care system that overlooked inept, abusive
caregivers. In and out of many homes and institutions as he grew up, Mr.
Burch discovered the true value of kindness in a world that
threatened and inflicted mental and physical harm with awful
consistency. He brought his insights to the 7th graders, and alerted
them to the types of cruel behaviors they might be practicing towards
their peers. He urged them not to think of his situation, and the foster
care system, as some nightmare environment far removed from their own
experience, but to be sensitive to being unkind within their own lives,
at school and at home. |
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