Brookwood School It Starts Here.

A number of Middle School writers read, discussed, and wrote about our One School, One Book Listen to the Wind (Mortenson and Roth, 2009 ). Fourth Graders reflected on what they might do to make the world a better place and wrote their ideas in the form of brief personal essays.

Save Yourself and Others

If I could help the world, I would cure cancer. The cure would be one of the world’s biggest accomplishments if I ever succeeded.
More than half a million people will die of cancer this year. To prevent yourself from getting cancer is really impossible. But to give yourself a better chance of not getting it is to exercise and eat more healthy. That could possibly save your life.
Finding the cure would need many doctors and lots of money. To help find the cure, you can have a fundraiser or walk in a cancer walk. When you are at a store, and there is a bowl for cancer, donate some money. If 250 people visit that store one day and all donate one dollar, we are $250 closer to the cure. Say ten stores did that, we would be $2500 closer to the cure. If we were making that much every day we would have a much greater chance.
The reason I care is because three people have died of it in my family, and they all had it twice and died the second time – except my mom.
I don’t want cancer, and you don’t want it, but there is a chance you might get it, so help anyway.
I think of cancer as a monster that eats your body up. Help destroy him. Think of your and others’ future.

Willie, Grade 4

Trying to Help Marblehead Animal Shelter

If I could help stray dogs, I would try as hard as I could to raise money for the animal shelter in Marblehead. I would try to start a fund raiser for that place.
I would take any form of money for the shelter. If I had to, I would stay out there every day… Or maybe not every day, but still I would be out there a lot!
Once I earned as much money as I could, I would give all the money to the shelter so they could buy more bedding, beds, and food. If they got really lucky, maybe people would donate those things which would be really nice! If they could have more of those things, they could buy more animals and keep them longer. And that’s really good!
Why this matters to me is because animals are such a big part of my life. Another reason is because I’ve had five pets. I had to take care of them myself. That is why I want to help the animal shelter.

Maddie, Gr. 4

Homeless

I want people to notice that there are people in this world who are homeless. For instance, I have gone to Turkey. I was in the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is shops inside. Where we were walking, we passed by a boy who was probably five years old begging on the streets. The only thing the boy had was a blanket. We gave him some money. He was so grateful that he kissed my hand.
We were going to dinner that night by the same route where we had seen that boy. It was 8 o’clock at night, and I looked out of the window and saw the boy sitting there. This made me so sad and angry. I think I will write a letter to the mayor saying:
Dear Mayor,
I think you should build more houses because after this experience, I realize that there are a lot of people in the world who are homeless. I want to share this with you because maybe after I tell you this, you will build more houses for the homeless.

Kripa, Gr. 4

Let’s Do Our Part

I would change our world because there are materials we have that are very dangerous as in guns, knives, and bombs.
I would arrest those people who use those things. I will stop killers and some strangers. I know that it would take forever because there are a lot of them. And if I don’t stop them, I still won’t give up, even it does take forever. I will not stop. I’ll do it if it takes all night, all morning, and all afternoon. All I know is I will not stop. So don’t worry because we will all make a difference together, and we will all stay together to help our world be a better place.
The question is – do you want it to be a better place? If you do, I will take the risk of not going to school. I will skip school for all of you. I will march to the police office and tell them to arrest those people.
So are you in?

Boulo, Grade 4

Do Your Best

I think it’s important to do your best. That is important to me because when I was three or four, my dad had a kidney transplant, and he almost died. The people who saved him did their best.
I could do my best in school. I can try my best in a soccer game. In our community, we can all do our best in work and school. This would help our world because doing your best can get you a good job and you can definitely save life. It is important to save a life because the person who is ill can return to their happy life with family and friends and be perfectly healthy if you succeed. If one person who does their best helps the world, we all can, so try your best!

Lily, Grade 4

Recycle

I would like Manchester to recycle more because it would save the environment. I would start by calling my friends and their parents to help me. I would get money to get on town TV. The way I would do it is to go to people’s recycling bins and take out beer bottles and plastic bottles. We would take them down to the grocery shop and put them in a machine. Each bottle is worth 5 cents. My friend and I would tell people to recycle more, and if people recycle just a little more that might make God feel a little better. So if were were successful, we would move to the next town and our huge group of people would keep going to the next town, to the next town… Then we would split up after six towns and we would each do six towns. We would get so many people to recycle in so many towns.

Ben, Grade 4

We encourage students to write independently in genres of their choice . It’s our pleasure to acknowledge the passion and motivation of those who write “for fun” and for the satisfaction of putting ideas and feelings on paper. Publishing such work here and in the world beyond Brookwood is rewarding for both teachers and student writers. Special thanks to these students who took the time and care to create poems independently.

Sea Glass
My shoes fill with sand
As I walk along the morning beach
Looking for sea glass
Hoping to find that special blue piece.

As I walk along,
The waves break
Throwing rocks and sand
To the ground
Shooting sea glass through the air.

As it sits,
It waits,
Waits for someone to come along
To pick it up
To begin a new life
In a jar with the rest
Of its friends.

As I walk along the morning beach
Looking for sea glass

Hoping to find that special blue
Peace.
Robyn, Grade 5

Fall

Leaves fall.
Nuts fall.
Rain falls.
Oh, I wonder what will fall next?
I hope it’s not snow!

Katharine, Grade 3