DeMasi Middle School students celebrate ‘Being Brave’ with Malala Yousafzai book initiative
On the snowy first day of spring, 125 seventh-grade students at DeMasi Middle School were springing into action, spending an entire day celebrating and encouraging each other to be brave and affect change through an interdisciplinary study on Friday, March 20.
The message of the day — Be Brave — was inspired by human rights advocate Malala Yousafzai’s book, “I Am Malala,” which the students had just finished reading.
“We started an activity last year where the students and teachers all read the same book at the same time in a program called One Pod, One Book, and we really enjoyed it,” said John Hampshire, a math teacher at DMS. “So this year we did it again and we chose the book “I Am Malala” because we are encouraging the kids to be brave.”
Five classrooms each hosted a different bravery-focused activity for the students: making a photo collage of what bravery looks like; performing trust-falls; making bravery bead bracelets; making signs depicting a time when the students were brave; listening to a speech Malala gave at the United Nations at age 16, and discussing how to affect change.
All of the pod’s teachers wore “Be Brave” T-shirts that featured a portrait of Malala drawn by DMS student Tania Palillero, aged 12.
Palillero and a friend also permanently painted the portrait onto the walls of DMS. “Malala is a great role model because I don’t like to be brave, but I saw how brave she was to the Taliban, even though she was shy like me,” Palillero said.
At the end of the day, the students gathered to hear Keynote Speaker Matthew Rich, Jr. talk about his life-long challenge of living with cerebral palsy, which did not stop him from becoming a certified physical trainer and completing his thirteenth 5K race earlier in the month.
Rich, who also is a singer, inspired the students with his stories and encouraged them to live their lives to the fullest.
“I want you to be who you are and never give up, even if someone tells you that you can’t do it,” Rich said. “Just get back up. Have your dreams because they are important to have. And don’t give up. Ever.”
