Watch Lisa See talk more about her novels and answer viewer questions in the full interview.

Students at Evans High School in Evans, Georgia celebrate their first Henrietta Lacks Day

On October 4, 2011, the Evans High School Multicultural Club and Evans High School Biology teachers invited the entire staff and student body of Evans High School to celebrate the life of Henrietta Lacks.  Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital on this day in 1951.  Henrietta Lacks may have died on this day, but her cells, called HeLa cells, are still living in laboratories all over the world.  “Henrietta’s cells were the first immortal human cells ever grown in culture.  They were essential to developing the polio vaccine.  They went up in the first space missions to see what would happen to cells in zero gravity.  Many scientific landmarks since then have used her cells, including cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization” (Zielinski, 2010).  This is an incredible story told by Rebecca Skloot in her award-winning book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  This book makes a wonderful springboard for discussions concerning civil rights and medical ethics as well as the science behind these miraculous cells.  Another interesting subject covered in the book involves the Lacks family.  The family receives no monetary compensation from laboratories and drug companies using HeLa cells and they cannot afford healthcare.

On our first Henrietta Lack’s Day, teachers at Evans shared information about Henrietta Lacks with each of their classes.  We hoped that everyone would hear the story, find it interesting, and want to read the book for him or herself.  Teachers received information to share with students.  Everyone was invited to wear red and honor Henrietta Lacks by keeping her story alive.  Staff members, Multicultural Club members, and Biology students each wore a sticker depicting the book jacket for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  In order to wear a sticker and red ribbon, one must be willing to share the story of Henrietta Lacks with anyone who asked about her.  Random House provided permission for us to use the book jacket on our stickers as well as the posters that were used throughout the school.  Signs to remind students to “Wear Red in Honor of Henrietta Lacks” were posted around the school as well.  Short excerpts from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks were shared on the morning television broadcast for several days prior to the event.  During our lunch periods, music from the era when Henrietta Lacks lived and danced on Saturday nights was played in the school commons area.  Dance tunes of Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Basie, Glen Miller, and Frank Sinatra were featured.

Why wear red?  After a painful bout with cancer, Henrietta Lacks passed away at the Johns Hopkins Hospital on October 4, 1951.  Dr. George Gey had a laboratory in the hospital basement.  He had worked for years to grow human cells outside the body.  His lab assistants had been collecting tissue samples from patients routinely.  Henrietta’s cells were the first cells that ever grew.  When Henrietta had surgery, Dr. Gey’s assistant Mary was sent to collect a sample of her cells and label the sample with the famous HeLa designation.  Mary went to the morgue where Henrietta’s autopsy was taking place to collect another sample for Dr. Gey.  When Mary saw the body, “she wanted to run out of the morgue and back to the lab, but instead, she stared at Henrietta’s arms and legs—anything to avoid looking into her lifeless eyes.  Then Mary’s gaze fell on Henrietta’s feet, and she gasped:  Henrietta’s toenails were covered in chipped bright red polish” (Skloot, 2010, p. 90).  “When I saw those toenails . . . I thought, oh jeeze, she’s a real person.  I started imagining her sitting and painting those toenails, and it hit me for the first time that those cells we’d been working with all this time and sending all over the world, they came from a live woman.  I’d never thought of it that way” (Skloot, 2010, pp. 90-91).   We want everyone to know that HeLa cells came from a real person, with a real family.

Planning this day started the very day I heard about Henrietta Lacks for the first time.  I was sitting in a doctoral class and my professor, John Weaver, asked if I had read Rebecca Skloot’s book.  As a Biology teacher with two biology degrees, I had heard of HeLa but never Henrietta Lacks.  When I went to our assistant principal’s office and told her I needed to talk to her about Henrietta Lacks, she informed me that she did not serve the “L” section of the alphabet and I should go and speak to Mr. Hooper.  Once I got through to her that Henrietta was not a student at our school with a discipline issue but instead someone who should be a very famous person, I was given permission to proceed.  I enlisted the help of the Evans High Multicultural Club and their sponsor, Mrs. Myrtis Robinson-Speight.  Our day was very successful.  I visited a construction class at the end of the day.  The biology students in the class were answering questions about Henrietta Lacks.  Their teacher reported that the discussion had been so good he allowed them to continue.  The students, teachers, custodians, lunchroom ladies, and administrators found Henrietta’s story to be as amazing as I did on that day in June when my professor shared it with me.  We plan to make this an annual event.   On October 4 each year, the students and faculty of Evans High School will wear red and share the story of Henrietta Lacks.  I personally will paint my toenails bright red to honor Henrietta! 

Dana McCullough (Evans High School Biology Teacher)

Henrietta Lacks Foundation.  (2010-2011). Retrieved September 27, 2011, from    _____http://henriettalacksfoundation.org/#about.

Skloot, R. (2010). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Hardcover

Zielinski, S. (2010, January 22). Smithsonian.com. Retrieved September 29, 2011, from Science and _____Nature:  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Henrietta-Lacks-Immortal-Cells.html.

Click here for more information about the CCHS Reads program and Mullen’s visit.

Also, the day’s programming will feature a special presentation on the Common Core Standards given by our friends at the Core Knowledge Foundation. You won’t want to miss it!

A free lunch will be served at noon. If you are not joining us for lunch, please be sure to arrive at least fifteen minutes before the start time of 12:30PM.

RSVP necessary. Click here for the official invitation.

I recall so well my freshman class’s heartfelt reactions to the suffering of young Elie Wiesel as we became immersed in the story of Night. Class discussions revolved around the cruelty of humankind and the necessity of hope, and their journals reflected just how engrossed they were in the journey. They experienced a similar reaction when the students (who were, like the school, about 92% Caucasian) dove into the life of Richard Wright and his shocking experience of growing up in the Jim Crow South in Black Boy.  During our conversations we explored topics such as the use of the “N word,” poverty, racism, religion, and, of course, the cruelty of humanity.

Those conversations fed me, and as we went on to read works by Maya Angelou, Frank McCourt, and Amy Tan, a small part of me couldn’t help but wonder: How would my students react to Dear Marcus, my self-published memoir about being shot in the back when I was 13? I had sworn never to bring up my book in class, believing it was best to maintain a “professional distance.” Despite my students’ constant prodding (“Are you married, Mr. McGill? Do you have kids? Were you in a car accident?”), I always respectfully declined discussions about my personal life.

Then a funny thing happened. Students being students, many of them “googled” me and, lo and behold, discovered that the life story of their mysterious teacher was right there for the entire world to read. Many found ways to purchase my memoir, and soon word about it spread.

Whether it was between classes, during lunch break, or in study hall, students would find me and, clutching their copy of my book, would then ask me questions about it. Their questions were soon followed by the inevitable demand that I autograph their copy. Not long after the first students read it, a fellow teacher doing a unit on the African-American experience in America asked if I would come speak to two of her classes. When word got out that I had agreed to do it, the teacher had to move the event to an auditorium because so many other students wanted to join the discussion.

At first I was apprehensive that disclosing so much about myself would be harmful to the student-teacher relationship, but much to my pleasure it had the opposite effect. Even students whom I knew clear well didn’t like me (I was a pretty demanding teacher and could be a harsh grader) came up to me after the talk to tell me how moved or fascinated they were by my story. In the weeks that followed, I had an untold number of healthy conversations with students about my life and about their own, and about the broader themes that my book touches on: poverty, class, faith, family, loyalty, trust, and destiny—topics that we may not have had a chance to explore in such depth otherwise. For the first time, I began to think, Well maybe, just maybe, someday there could be a place for Dear Marcus on a curriculum. . . .

I am so pleased that Dear Marcus will now be available for a wider audience, and it is my sincere hope that educators will find it worthy of sharing with their students. Though it is my own story, it addresses issues of race, class, disability, inner-city violence, the importance of education, the repercussions of our actions on other people’s lives, and, most of all, the importance of hope and perseverance—issues that are relevant and that warrant classroom discussion.  Ultimately, I hope that Dear Marcus will help young people see the beauty in their own lives while reminding them that even if things don’t go the way that they expect, they are in control of their futures.

-Jerry McGill

Given the way Miss Peregrine is told, with the photos I found woven through the narrative, it’s proven to be a fascinating conversation-starter for students and teachers of creative writing. Students can easily find photos of their own to use as writing prompts, either on the Internet or, better yet, in the attics and closets of parents and grandparents. (I discovered that it’s nearly impossible to write about old photographs without becoming interested in their history. There’s something fascinating about the immediacy of a photograph, no matter how old it is; though a picture might have been taken a hundred years ago, it is always, in some sense, now.) 

The story itself, though it takes some decidedly fantastical turns, has one foot firmly rooted in history. I’m a firm believer that the real world is more dramatic than any story we can make up about it, and when writing I try to draw upon real events whenever I can. The experience of European Jews during World War II is central to the book, as is that of British civilians living under the terrifying threat of German bombing raids. Though the world of the peculiar children is fantasy, it exists alongside and frequently intersects with our own.

In many ways, Miss Peregrine is a story about tolerance. The peculiar children are people who’ve been shunned, persecuted and forced into hiding because of their differentness—but it is also this differentness that enables them. Though the children have special abilities—one can make fire with her bare hands, another can levitate, yet another is blessed with incredible strength—they are not superheroes. The levitating girl, for instance, must wear heavy, leaden shoes to prevent her from floating away. A prophetic boy named Horace is plagued by terrible dreams. Their peculiarities, like the gifts of we “normal” people, exist along a spectrum of ability and disability.

Above all, my goal was to write a riveting story. I’ve received e-mails from hundreds of readers telling me they “couldn’t put it down,” including many from teenagers who say they rarely read books of their own volition, but finished Miss Peregrine in just a few days. (Those are my favorites.) If my book can turn even a few reluctant readers on to fiction, I’ll be very happy. With your help, though, I hope it can reach many more.

Ransom Riggs
www.ransomriggs.com

Quiet by Susan Cain

I first thought about the powers and challenges of introversion some 26 years ago, when I began my freshman year at Princeton University.

From the minute I set foot on campus, I saw that college could be an extraordinary place for introverts and extroverts alike. A place where you were expected to spend your time reading and writing. A place where it was cool to talk about ideas. A place where there were so many people, each doing his or her own thing, that you could create your own brand of social life. If you were an introvert, you could find friends with common interests and enjoy their company one-on-one or in small groups; if you were an extrovert, the social possibilities were endless, just the way extroverts like them.

I was an introvert, and I thrived.

Not that it was always easy. At Princeton, as on many campuses, many social and academic structures seemed designed for extroverts. I wondered why the cafeteria was arranged so that the large circular tables, where the most gregarious students sat, were located near the sunny windows, while the booths for quieter chats were off in the shadowy margins of the room. I wondered whether any of my classmates longed to munch on a tuna sandwich behind a newspaper as I did, instead of being expected to participate in a social free-for-all three times a day. I learned to praise Princeton’s excellent seminars, and to participate in them, but privately I preferred lectures where you could soak up knowledge and think your own thoughts instead of having to perform them out loud.

Most of all, I wondered whether I was the only one who felt this way.

Today, after interviewing hundreds of current and former college students, I know the answer:  I wasn’t the only one. Not by a long shot.

Did you know that one third to one half of the population is introverted? That’s one out of every two or three students on campus. But most schools, workplaces, and religious institutions are organized with extroverts in mind—even though many of the achievements that have propelled society, from the theory of evolution to the invention of the PC, from van Gogh’s sunflowers to The Cat in the Hat, came from people who were quiet, cerebral, and sensitive.  Even in less obviously introverted occupations, like finance, politics, and activism, some of the greatest leaps forward were made by introverts: Eleanor Roosevelt. Al Gore. Warren Buffett. Gandhi.

This is no coincidence. There are specific physiological and psychological advantages to being an introvert and I’ll share them with your students through the lens of my book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. I’ll tell your students how we can all learn from the introverts among us, including how to be more creative, think more carefully, love more gently, and organize our schools and workplaces more productively. Quiet also challenges contemporary myths of human nature, including the belief that creativity is fundamentally collaborative, and our preference for charismatic leaders.

But Quiet offers insights and advice for extroverts too, and it gives all students the license to talk about a social dynamic they’ve been living and breathing but never given voice to. Introversion/extroversion is as fundamental a difference between people as gender, yet until now we’ve lacked the vocabulary—and the cultural permission—to talk about it.

I’ve never presented the ideas in Quiet without getting people buzzing about whether they and their friends are introverts or extroverts, and what that means for their relationships, career choices, and life paths. Quiet is sure to spark animated discussions across campus, from the psychology and social-science classroom to the dorm room and dining hall.

I’ll be conducting an international speaking tour this year, and I look forward to continuing these discussions at high schools and colleges nationwide. I invite you to contact me through my blog, ThePowerOfIntroverts.com, to discuss opportunities.

Quiet will prepare your students for careers working alongside introverted and extroverted colleagues, bosses, and employees. And it will help them to understand the people they care about most: their classmates, their family, their partners, their children—and themselves.

Susan Cain
www.ThePowerOfIntroverts.com

GIVEAWAY DESCRIPTION, LEGAL TERMS & CONDITIONS RHHIGHSCHOOL is running a Twitter giveaway 2/9/12 through 2/16/12, giving away 1 copy of The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

HOW TO ENTER: To be eligible to receive a copy of The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore retweet the @RHhighschool contest tweet between 5 PM on 2/9/12 through 5 PM on 2/16/12. Limited to one Tweet per person per offer date. We will randomly draw the winner from all people who have submitted a retweet. The winner will receive one copy of  The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. RHHIGHSCHOOL will direct message the winner for his/her mailing address and send the book(s) no later than 3/1/12. Offer is only open to U.S. residents (excluding Puerto Rico), age 18 years or older, who have a valid Twitter account. Users must be Twitter followers of RHHIGHSCHOOL to be eligible. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. In the case of a dispute over the identity of an entrant, the authorized account holder of the Twitter account used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. RHHIGHSCHOOL is not responsible for lost/late/misdirected entries or computer malfunctions. Entries that contain errors, are incomplete, corrupted or illegible will not be accepted. RHHIGHSCHOOL reserves the right to disqualify entries from anyone tampering with the Twitter entry process. RHHIGHSCHOOL assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to Twitter. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late or misdirected tweets; computer malfunctions, including but not limited to any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission or communications line failure; or theft, destruction or unauthorized access to entrant’s Twitter account. Tweets that contain errors, are incomplete, corrupted or illegible will not be accepted. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify entries from anyone tampering with the Twitter entry process.

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WINNER SELECTION: Winner will be determined in a random drawing at the entry deadline. Sponsor will notify Winner by sending a tweet. Winner will be required to provide his/her address for mailing of the prize.

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GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating in this sweepstakes, entrants agree to abide by these official rules. Sponsor is not responsible for injury or damage to any computer, other equipment, or person relating to or resulting from participation in the sweepstakes, or participating in the Twitter network. Entrants release Sponsor, its agencies, and assigns from any liability, damage and/or loss resulting from participating in this sweepstakes and/or the acceptance, use or misuse of the prize. Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to publish, post online, or otherwise refer to the name of the winners in any and all forms and media throughout the world, and for any and all publicity or promotional purposes, without obligation or compensation, except where prohibited by law. SPONSOR: RHHIGHSCHOOL c/o Random House, Inc., 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

Black Women For Beginners

Since 1926, The Association for the Study of African American Life and History has established the national theme for the month-long celebration. This year’s theme is “Black Women in American Culture and History.”

In addition to Black Women for Beginners—an ideal book for this year’s theme—we are happy to suggest these other great, graphic non-fiction titles also from the For Beginners imprint: African History for Beginners and Black History for Beginners. And don’t miss these great graphic offerings from the Campfire Books line as well: Muhammad Ali: The King of the Ring and Nelson Mandela: The Unconquerable Soul.

Celebrate African American History Month with your students by sharing these titles from Knopf Doubleday: The Warmth of Other Suns, the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life; The Grace of Silence, a memoir that boldly examines racial legacy and what it means to be an American, and Life Upon These Shores, a landmark book tracing African American history from the arrival of the conquistadors to the election of Barack Obama.

Feel free to browse our African American History Month calendar page for more suggestions.