Embedded Files
Patrick, D. Kensky, J. (2018). Rescue & Jessica: A life-changing friendship. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.
Critical Literacy
Critical Literacy
The book Rescue and Jessica is based off of a real-life friendship and is considered to be an #OwnVoice text. However, after having read this book a second time, we realized some major caveats to this book. One thing that might be viewed as a caveat is that it's a single-story and depicts white privilege through Jessica's family with their ability to have the financial means to afford a service dog and prosthetics. While we respect Jessica's story and acknowledge the trauma that she faced, we think this single story could be harmful to people of lower socio-economic statuses.
Suggested Text From text-set
Suggested Text From text-set
Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship
Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship
Why This Text?
Why This Text?
This text works to bridge the themes of identity and perseverance within our complete text set. In the story, Jessica has to relearn who she is and what she is capable of when she goes through a life-changing journey after being affected by the Boston Marathon bombing. Jessica's identity is reshaped as she begins her life as a double amputee. Not only does Jessica go through the questioning of, "who am I with my physical disability?", but her emotional, mental, and physical strength and wellness is tested as she faces the variety of obstacles that lay before her. Jessica shows that she can lead a normal life in which she can do anything she sets her mind to. Like Kek in Home of the Brave, Jessica is faced with learning how to live in a way that is completely different from the way she knows. However, Jessica and Kek both find ways to stay positive while navigating their new lives through building powerful relationships.
Problem posing questions & potential student Responses
Problem posing questions & potential student Responses
- Whose perspective does the author favor?
- The author favors people who are also amputees and face the same struggles as she did.
- The author favors families that are privileged and white.
2. Whose perspective is missing?
- Families of color
- People of color with physical disabilities
3. How are people with less wealth treated? What about those with more wealth?
- People with more wealth are able to afford the services they need when they are an amputee.
- People who are poor can't afford a service dog or prosthetic legs.
4. Why do you think the author wrote this book? What are the intentions of the author?
- The author wrote this book to tell people about the challenges that amputees face, but how they are also capable of playing sports and being active despite their challenges.
- The author's reasoning for writing this book is to inform people about service dogs and people who are amputees.
5. What might be an alternative text?
- A picture of someone who is an amputee and a person of color.
- A picture of a family of color that contains someone who is an amputee and has a prosthetic leg.
6. What is a lesson I have learned about justice and fairness?
- That is book is just one person's story and it does not reflect all people who were affected by the Boston Marathon.
- Sometimes, in texts, not everyone is represented equally.
Critical Practices
Critical Practices
Teachers who use critical practices in their classroom help to disrupt stereotypes and allow students to feel equally represented in the texts they read. When introducing the topic of people with disabilities through children's literature, it becomes important that the educator looks at each text through a critical lense to ensure students are receiving a holistic picture about certain groups of people. Here are just a few critical practices teachers need to consider when introducing these sensitive topics.
- Provide Alternative Texts: Each book has its own caveats when talking about a particular group of people, which is why it is essential to provide students with alternative texts to counter these single stories. For instance, when introducing a topic about people with disabilities, teachers need to consider texts that consist of diverse individuals who also have a physical or mental disability. Some alternative texts teachers might consider are Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson or A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant.
- Invite a Community Speaker to the Classroom: Another way to challenge stereotypes about a group of people is by inviting a community member of that group to speak in the classroom. In doing so, students are able to actively inquire about people who are a part of a community while listening to those who offer different perspectives about a topic.
Social Action/Social Justice Activities for the classroom
Social Action/Social Justice Activities for the classroom
Service Dog posters
Service Dog posters
For this activity, students will inquire about NEADS/World Class Service Dogs, which is a nonprofit organization that offers a wide spectrum of assistance, including service dogs for adults and children with physical disabilities. After students have conducted their research, they will create posters about what they have learned about service dogs. The purpose of these activity to spread awareness about the different types of services people with disabilities can receive.
Resources:
Interviewing Individuals with disabilities
Interviewing Individuals with disabilities
For this activity, the teacher will invite several individuals with physical disabilities to speak to the classroom. In preparation for this activity, the teacher will help students build a collective set of appropriate interview questions to ask the speakers when they come talk to the class. The purpose of this activity to build students' empathy and understanding for those with disabilities. More importantly, this opportunity also allows students to actively inquire about physical disabilities and form their own opinions about people who are a part of this community.
Write an "I am.." persona poem
Write an "I am.." persona poem
For this activity, students will be given the opportunity to create a persona poem from the perspective of a character from the anchor textbook Rescue and Jessica: A Life Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky & Patrick Downes, or Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann. Students will focus on the characters' emotions, hopes, fears, sense, etc. The purpose of activity is to create a sliding glass door experience for students where they can elicit empathic responses for the struggles people with physical disabilities might face, and how they overcome those struggles through support ant the assistance of different services. After students create their poem, they can then share it with the class.
Resources:
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