The Good, the Bad, and the Invisible

Fitting in is never easy, but it never feels harder than in middle school. Developmentally kids are suddenly aware of their own limitations and increasingly crave the approval of their peers. Last year a student said to me eagerly, "Look at my painting!" and then quickly followed with, "It's terrible." This defensiveness is endemic in the tween population and it seems we in schools often address it ineffectively.

Two books address these feelings- Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass and The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman.

Every Soul is wholesome, to borrow a word used in class, but does a good job of illustrating that kids build self-esteem best when they are able to develop the skills they feel are lacking. This is most notable in Jack, who, after enjoying success in the dreaded fields of science and friendship, then becomes bold enough to begin sharing his art with his new friends.

This book is a special treat for those of us mired in testing drills, trying to get struggling readers and mathematicians to succeed at filling in bubbles. Instead of focusing on academic achievement it melds a real-life application of science into a tale of friendship that examines important markers of emotional development- Am I comfortable with who I am? What is really important to me? And, What do I want to get out of my life?

Schwa, I feel, is a deeper and darker story. The Schwa does not just have low self-esteem- he feels invisible. By feeling invisible, he is invisible. Antsy resents his role as the mediator in his family and feels himself growing apart from his friends. The stakes seem higher here than in Every Soul and I was worried that the Schwa would become suicidal. That is not where Shusterman takes us though, and instead allows the characters to know themselves better through each others' eyes. Antsy sees that he is the paperclip, Schwa sees, well, himself.

I can't count the number of meetings I've had with parents, other teachers, and administrators in which I've said, "She/He has really low self-esteem." We have our responsibility as educators to support the students' development academically and socially, to provide the kids with opportunities for success (like Jack's science teacher in Every Soul), but in these books it is powerful, lifelong friendships that help these kids see themselves in a way they like. How can we make school environments places where kids bond rather than compete? How can we reduce bullying and increase peer-support? I'm going to start by putting these books in the middle school library.