submitted by Erin Clary,
The students in Carol Benson’s fifth grade classroom at Berlin Elementary know the truth behind the saying, “Every penny counts.” In fact, they collected enough spare change to donate more than $250 for charity.
Two months ago, Benson and her class read a story about a 10 year old boy named Iqbal. Iqbal was sold into slavery at the age of four. He spent six years chained to a carpet weaving loom in Pakistan. After finally freeing himself and speaking out for children’s rights, Iqbal lost his life to those who wished to silence him.
According to Benson, her students were shocked and outraged by what they had read. They couldn’t believe that slavery was still happening in the world.
Then Benson showed them a video from “60 Minutes” about a grown man named Craig Kielberger, the founder of an organization called Free the Children. The organization has more than two million volunteers working to free the world’s children from slavery, poverty and exploitation. Kielberger heard the story of Iqbal when a seventh-grader and decided he needed to do something. He gathered his classmates and began work, little by little, until Free the Children was born.
Realizing that even someone their own age could make a huge difference, Benson’s students decided to take action. They partnered up and visited every classroom at Berlin Elementary School to tell Iqbal’s story and to ask for spare change as Kielberger once did. After two months they raised more than $250 from spare change donations by their peers and Berlin Elementary School staff.
According to Benson, the new Common Core Learning Standards in English Language Arts require students to read an equal amount of fiction and non-fiction text, such as the story of Iqbal.
“The kids were really excited to do something. A lot of what they’ve read in the past isn’t something that is really happening. I think it really hit them that this was real and is slavery,” said Benson. “It put things into perspective for them to look beyond themselves to see the real issues of the world.”
Benson said the project was a true collaborative effort with an important lesson. “Everyone played a part and they got to see first hand how a little bit can make all the difference.”