“Six months ago, the Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped.  We were rocked by that horrible story and knew then that, as a community, we needed to learn more about the plight of girls in much of the world.  Unfortunately, this topic is increasingly salient with the girls still missing and with the rise of ISIS and the atrocities being perpetrated on girls and boys, women and men in the Middle East. Malala stands a voice of hope for the power of education, advocacy and the human spirit.”

Christie Beveridge, Chair of the Language Arts department at Vermont Commons School, stated the above when asked why she picked I Am Malala as the school’s common text this year.

Every year, Vermont Commons School selects a text to be read by everyone in the school; students, faculty and staff.  The study of the text culminates in Common Text Day, happening this Friday, October 10^th.  That day the regular school schedule is put aside and all students, faculty, and parents who are able, attend workshops, share writing inspired by the text, prepare and share food from the area in which the story took place (in this case, Pakistan) and attend talks by authors and activists.

This Friday, students will hear from Tanya Stone, a South Burlington author who is working on a book based on the movie Girl Rising, and from Brendan O’Neill from Migrant Justice, a Vermont organization providing a voice for economic and human rights for the migrant farm workers in Vermont and beyond.

Related articles

• I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (readingonarainyday.com)
• Malala explains why she risked death to speak up for girls’ education (pbs.org)
• Malala Yousfzai nominated for Nobel Prize again (thenewstribe.com)