Teaching English at Oakland High in the late 1990s, Ernest Morrell faced the age-old problem of how to get modern students interested in a canon of long-dead writers and poets. He watched kids muddle through class, heads down, interest limited. Then one day, while teaching Beowulf, a student’s eyes lit up when he realized the story was similar to a popular rap song. That day, Professor Morrell saw a spark of joy, enthusiasm and engagement and wondered how he could give that spark to all his students.He started bringing in other contemporary tangents – pop culture references, movies, music – but without losing the basis in classic literature. His students were learning. They were engaged. And, most importantly, Professor Morrell says, they were learning to love school and love themselves.Since then, Professor Morrell has authored K-5 and 6-12 curricula which are being taught by schools in every state. He’s advocated for teaching that not only improves academic outcomes, but also personal and social ones. And he’s teaching Notre Dame undergraduates and ACE students to find that spark in their lives and the lives of those around them.Learn more: https://go.nd.edu/LiteracyAcrossAmericaWWYFF
More from What Would You Fight For?
- 2:01Fighting to End PovertyIn Dandora, Kenya, a sprawling neighborhood in Nairobi, housing for 250,000 people is built around the city’s largest dumpsite. Life near a large trash heap exposes the population to problems ranging from illness to unemployment to extreme poverty.Many of the town’s residents spend their days wading in the trash, looking for bits of aluminum and plastic that they can exchange for a few dollars to support their family. Others, typically women, run roadside stands selling goods like fruit or medications. For many families, the profits from these microenterprises are the only way to put food on the table or to send children to school.Notre Dame and its Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity have been invested in Dandora for several years. Research projects and a Holy Cross parish have taken root. In speaking with the local population about their needs, the Ford Program asked a trio of Notre Dame economists — Wyatt Brooks, Kevin Donovan and Terry Johnson — to come to Dandora to explore problems surrounding unemployment.For more information: http://ntrda.me/FFEndPoverty
- 2:01Fighting for the Lives of ChildrenWhen your child is diagnosed with a rare, genetic disease, it feels like you’re rolling down a mountain, just waiting to hit rock bottom, says Doug Berns. When his daughter, Samantha, was diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C, an incurable, neurodegenerative disorder, he and his wife watched as Samantha’s energy depleted, her balance became shaky, and her laughter quieted.At Notre Dame, researchers in the Boler-Parseghian Center for Rare and Neglected Diseases seek to identify and advance treatments for a number of rare diseases, including Niemann-Pick Type C.For more information: http://ntrda.me/LivesofChildren
