East Haven English Teacher Fundraising To Buy Students 'Physical' Book

EAST HAVEN, CT — There's something about holding an actual bound, hard-copy book in your hands when reading. Sure, a PDF, file online will do, or a Kindle-type book, but the experience of reading a book —written to be read with it in your hands — is a whole nother matter.

Lauren Condosta is an 8th grade English teacher at James Melillo Middle School. The department has recently launched an "enrichment project to enhance our unit on Resistance and Conformity," and as part of the unit, she and her classes are reading the much-lauded John Boyne classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but only excerpts from an online PDF.

She's hoping that through the classrooms-in-need website, Donors Choose enough will be raised to purchase physical copies of the novel to "deepen student readers engagement and provide a more enriching literary experience."

The school does not have the 100 copies of the book it needs for the students, more than half of whom, Condosta noted on Donors Choose, are from low-income households.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 historical fiction novel by Irish author Boyne tells the story of the son of an Auschwitz commander and his friendship with a Jewish boy detainee. A bestseller described as a morality tale, it's been made into an award-winning film and even a ballet.

This is what Condosta shared on the fundraising website:

Our students need physical copies of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to effectively understand the core character development and moral choices presented in the historical fiction novel about a young boy's experience as a Nazi officer's son living next to a concentration camp during the Holocaust.

Students will grapple with the essential question of the importance of conforming or resisting and choosing to be an upstander or bystander.

In reading the text, students will write and discuss key issues and use evidence from the book itself to cite examples and provide quote evidence. Common core English standards we will address will help students critical and informed thinking skills, and. writing clarity to become powerful and effective communicators.

"Having access to the full text in physical form will allow our students to explore the themes of the novel in greater depth, engage in meaningful discussions, and develop critical reading and analytical skills," Condosta wrote in a Facebook appeal. "This initiative will ensure that every student has the opportunity to immerse themselves fully in this impactful story and benefit from the experience of holding and reading a tangible book."

To donate, click here.

This is just one of many fundraisers for East Haven schools found on Donors Choose.

Mrs. O'Brien's class at East Haven Academy needs a white board, for example. And Mrs. Pompano is trying to raise money for students to participate in a STEM competition. And many more.