How Wonder applies to my life

    I have this sweet perfect nephew. His name is Kamden. He is a twin. His twin brother, Drake, will meet you at the door and want you to take him outside as soon as you get there. These two boys have completely stolen my heart from the moment they were born.
     To take you back to that day, The boys were born at 29 weeks, there mommy was very sick and there was no other choice. Both boys were born around 3lbs. After weeks in the hospital Drake was able to come home, but my sweet Kamden still needed a few weeks. The doctors mentioned that Kam had stroke while he was still the womb. He would need lots of rehab.
    Flash forward to July 2014, there mom welcomed a new baby into the family, Reece. He is perfect and everyone that comes to see the new baby says the same thing. But it bugs me. They come to see him and say he's perfect but then ask question after question about Kam. Will he ever walk? Will he always be delayed? etc. Some of these questions are easy to answer. Like, Yes, he will walk one day and he knows just as many words as his brother. After reading this book, I was able to relate in many ways. When were out, people notice and stare, that Kam is 2 and doesn't walk, they notice that he doesn't use his left arm like he should, and yes, if you look at him close you will see that one eye may go to the side from time to time. My thoughts after reading this story is that once he enters school, kids are going to notice, and that hurts me. To me Kamden is beautiful. When he laughs it brings tears to my eyes because I know we could have lost him several times. I can related to how Auggie's family must have felt.The stares, the questions. I love how this story ended because the students truly accepted him and I hope that as a teacher I create a classroom that is accepting of any differences.

Auggie: Wonder

Dear sweet Auggie,
     If I could truly write a letter to you, I would praise everything about you. I wish I had the strength you did. You are truly an example of strength. You accepted new challenges and even struggled with him and came out on top. You had to go through many many hardships. Friends were not nice to you, I wonder how you kept coming? What was it that made you go back to school after you heard your friend say those mean things? Brave. Is the only word that comes to mind when I think of you. Thank you for giving us this story to read and learn from. It's inspirational and we can all learn a lesson or two from you.

Outsiders: Wonder

    We've all seen those people in the grocery store. We can't help but stare. This book has made me very self conscious. I have never even heard the name Auggie and I have heard it twice since I read this book. It makes me more aware of those around me. I think as outsiders we aren't really being mean when we stare we really just want to know what is happening. We are curious people. I don't think that is something we will ever overcome. I don't think there will be a day where someone won't be different. Our world is always changing and it's our job to be accepting of whatever may come our way.

Teachers: Wonder

     Professionally we are suppose to have it all together. We are suppose to look at students as equal people. I often wonder if Auggie was placed into my classroom what would happen, yes over time he would be accepted, but I know almost without a doubt that our first look at him would be just the same as everyone else. I can't explain it but I know we would have the moment where we would look at him and freeze and wonder what was going on. How do we prevent this? I don't know that we can. I truly know that I try to accept everyone as equals but I still fail when it comes to this. I know that I am not perfect but in my classroom I try my best to be a teacher that it accepting and promoting a positive atmosphere. I encourage them to be accepting of others that may be different because really we're all the same.  

Julian: Wonder

I think all of us as we read the part of Julian can relate it to someone in our lives. Julian is the popular guy that is almost afraid to become friends with anyone that isn't his "type". We see how he treats Auggie and becomes this type of bully that we all have seen. To be honest I think Julian is afraid to be friends with Auggie in fear of what it might do to his reputation. Julian doesn't want to lose his "cool" status to become friends with someone who is disformed. When I relate this to my life, I wasn't always the coolest person in my school, I wouldn't even say I was popular, but what I learned through my experiences of high school, is those friends that truly "get" you will be by your side no matter what.

Parents: Wonder

I am not a parent. Many of you reading this may be. I know that you are told to love your children unconditionally and that you do. Raising a child with special needs is no different. Auggie's parents are a true example of what it means to be a family. They never make him do anything he doesn't want to do. They support him in all he does. They listen, respect, and enjoy his company. As I read this book I wonder if God blessed me with  a special needs child if I would be as kind and passionate. Life will always have several ups and downs but its what we do in those times that makes us who we are.

Via: Wonder

      I can understand where Via is coming from. Sometimes as you grow up in life, it isn't always easy. Via is just entering high school and for once in her life she doesn't want to be known for the girl that has a brother that is severely disformed. I feel for her. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes. I don't believe her in the book when she doesn't tell her parents about her play because she doesn't want her "
new" life to change because of her brother. Throughout the book I never question how much she loves her brother, she just wants to be selfish and to be the center of attention. She voices how much she cares and looks out for Auggie all throughout his journey. I couldn't imagine if I was in Via shoes, it would be difficult to deal with all the stares and comments that may come her way. Growing up with a brother with special needs is difficult enough but she truly shows us how to be a great older sibling.

Overall Thoughts on Wonder

     Wow! I couldn't put this put book down! It took be a few days to read just because I'm a slow reader but it applies to so many parts of my life. As my first year as a head start teacher, I was blessed with having a student with down syndrome. What a true blessing. At the beginning of the year I knew it would be a challenge for me because this was something new for me. I had many years of education in special education but nothing truly prepares you for taking on that challenge. The first day of school I am welcomed with this wonderful ball of energy. It took us several weeks to get into a routine but after time the students became so attached to this little girl that often when she missed the students would asked where she was at. This reminds me of Wonder because over time students began to see him in a different way. They began to stick up for him and they were always there to protect him. When it comes to my classroom, my students would have stood up for her no matter what.