Letters to Dr. Sweet: Middle School Takes on
'Arc of Justice'
As we start the new year, attention continues to grow for the 2011-12 Great Michigan Read. More than 280 organizations have become registered partners, stretching from Calumet in the Upper Peninsula, to Morenci in the southeast corner.
This 2011-2012 Great Michigan Read book selection, "Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age," by Detroit native Kevin Boyle, has proven to be a hit. Libraries stacked their shelves, book clubs dove in, and high school and college students discussed, debated and re-enacted the landmark trials recaptured in the book.
While the "Arc of Justice" is written for high-school readers and above, 826Michigan, a non-profit organization that works with students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and writing skills, was approached to participate in the Great Michigan Read and partner with a middle school to host programming.
“Our (Great Michigan Read) project was conceived as an effort to make the themes of ‘Arc of Justice’ available to middle-school-aged readers,” said Amy Wilson, communications coordinator for 826.
The organization partnered with Scarlett Middle School, also in Ann Arbor. Over the course of two months, 826 worked with Scarlett language arts teachers Ellen Daniel and Sal Barrientes, along with 826 program assistant Carolyn Racine, to design a multi-unit course surrounding “Arc of Justice” for eighth-grade students.
The mini-unit, titled “Letters to Dr. Sweet,” was conducted in school over a two-week period, in which students read excerpts of the book and held group discussions. The project culminated with a final report – a mock newspaper article on the Sweet Trial.
Although the text in “Arc of Justice” presented challenges to many students due to its difficult reading level, the “Letters to Dr. Sweet” project continued.
“We felt that the difficulty in the book fell largely in Kevin Boyle’s sophisticated, academic writing style,” Wilson said. “However, the overarching themes, and the message that he wishes to impart, were not only accessible, but interesting to 13-14 year olds, who in many cases are trying to understand the world around them in a sociological way for the first time.”
Wilson, Racine and the teachers involved were dedicated not only to the reading and writing aspects of the project, but also to ensuring the students learned about a part of history that may otherwise be passed over.
“Our cooperating teachers Ellen and Sal felt, and we agree, that it was important for the students to understand that not only did the Civil Rights Movement begin before 1960, but that it had strong roots in Detroit. As residents of southeast Michigan, understanding the history and significance of Detroit is, in many ways, understanding our environment today."
Though it was an interesting challenge presenting this text to middle-school students, it’s something 826Michigan would consider again. By reading “Arc of Justice,” students were able to explore an advanced vocabulary while learning of our state’s history.
As recorded in one group’s final project, a student wrote, ‘I learned the disgracefulness that American is capable of, and also the kindness.”
If you would like to participate in the Great Michigan Read, please visit the Michigan Humanities Council website at www.michiganhumanities.org. Partner registration forms are posted online, as well as a calendar of events if you’re interested in participating in a program locally.
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