OUT OF MY MIND BY SHARON M. DRAPER By: Maria Paz Galarce Crain With Elizabeth Bonker’s valedictorian speech currently circulating in the news, now more than ever Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper serves as a poignant reminder of the power of voice - especially in those who fight so hard to share it.
Out of My Mind follows Melody, a young girl with cerebral palsy, and her journey to finding her voice. “I knew a lot of words, but I couldn’t read a book. I had a million thoughts in my head, but I couldn’t share them with anybody” (Draper, 2010, p. 46). Written in stream of consciousness prose, Out of My Mind gives a unique and salient insight into the frustration of not being able to freely communicate. Tasks we all take for granted like feeding ourselves or sitting up without falling over are impossible for Melody. But what is most impossible is going through life without being able to share a joke or tell her parents “I love you”. When she finally is given the correct tools to communicate and is able to share her genius, everyone around her is better for it. Just as Elizabeth Bonker described her mind as a “silent cage”, Draper’s protagonist Melody laments. “It’s like I live in a cage with no door and no key” (Draper, 2010, p. 40). Although Elizabeth has non-verbal autism and not cerebral palsy, both she and Melody share the common misfortune of having teachers that don’t believe in the value of their voice. When I first read Out of My Mind, my initial reaction was to send the title to every member of my teacher preparation cohort. I immediately thought that this Draper masterpiece should be required reading for not only special education teachers but all teachers. Every time I reread this book, I am struck by the lines, “How am I supposed to learn anything if I couldn’t talk? How was I supposed to answer questions? Or ask questions?” (Draper, 2010, p. 46). I hold these questions close in my role as a special education teacher but especially in my role as a classroom teacher. How am I setting all of my students up for success in asking and answering questions? How am I ensuring that all of my students are learning?
Out of My Mind reminds us all that students rise to the level of expectation that you set for them. It is our jobs as educators to create the doors and provide the keys to the cages of each of our students’ minds. Whether they have cerebral palsy or non-verbal autism, a label, or no label at all, each student deserves the chance to make their voice heard.
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Adult Lessons from Children’s Books
