A few weeks ago, I heard a wonderful speaker at a conference I attended on transformative change.
The speaker, Wes Moore, is author of the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Immediately following his presentation, I logged onto my Amazon account and downloaded his book. I was about halfway through chapter two when I realized that this should be the topic of my next blog.
If you have not heard of this book or read it, I highly recommend that you do. My guess is that as soon as you read the first chapter, you will be reminded of a student that you used to know or currently know. There is also a classroom version and several schools use the book as part of their curriculum.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
What is so great about this book, you may be asking. I have limited time and money so why should I spend either on this book? Well, there are a multitude of themes that will resonate with educators, students, and family members of students. I’ll tell you about a couple of themes that I think will hit home for you and the community of students and families that you serve.
Before I do that, let me give a quick synopsis of the story. The Other Wes Moore is the story of two individuals named Wes Moore. Although they both had similar childhoods–born in Baltimore, raised by single mothers, and often in trouble at school and elsewhere–the author ends up as an army officer, Rhodes Scholar, and best-selling author. The other Wes Moore is currently serving a life sentence for murder. This is the story of how a few choices set these young men on two very different life courses.
I could spend hours discussing and writing the “take aways” from this book so let me just highlight a couple.
One theme that hit home for me was second chances. Throughout their lives, both of the Wes’s had second chance opportunities. Tired of his antics, the author’s mother enrolled Wes in a military school in Pennsylvania. Although Wes initially hated it and tried to leave several times, one of the school’s leaders saw potential in him. After trying to run away from the school several times, one of the commanding officers gave Wes five minutes to make a phone call. Wes called his mother, begging her to let him come home. She said no. Wes stayed at the school, which was a pivotal point in setting the course of his life.
In contrast, the other Wes Moore also tried to change his life at one point. With a family to support, Wes attended job corps and received training as a carpenter. Once he had completed the program, however, he could not find long-term employment, and the jobs he did find barely paid minimum wage. Finding that he could not make enough money to support his family, Wes returned to the streets to continue his drug operation.
For me, one of the most important lessons taken from this book is the impact and influence that individuals can have on young people. In Part III of the book, the author discusses a conversation that he had with the other Wes Moore about expectations and states, “The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves.”
Wow! What a powerful statement. Although we may not consciously be sending messages to those around us, people have an instinct for what you think they are capable of and what they can accomplish. For the author, his mother had set high expectations for him and was determined that he would meet those expectations. In contrast, the other Wes Moore was influenced by his older brother who was already established within the gang and drug wars within Baltimore.
For me, one of the most important lessons taken from this book is the impact and influence that individuals can have on young people.
Since reading the book, I have been thinking a lot about that statement. As individuals who have the power to influence young people’s lives, it is so important that we think about the messages that we are sending to them. Have we clearly set high expectations for all young individuals and do we have a system for ensuring that they can meet those expectations with guided support from us? How can we involve families in also establishing expectations for students so they can choose productive life paths? It is clear throughout the book that there are no easy paths or easy answers, and some people still make wrong choices.
With support and the knowledge that someone believes in you, the odds increase greatly for a positive outcome.
If you have read this book or are familiar with Wes and have used his work with your colleagues or students, please share how you have done so. If this has inspired you to read the book, please share the messages you have taken away from it or how you will use it with colleagues or students.
For more information about Wes Moore, visit his website.
My breakfast this morning was a pancake, orange juice, and hot tea.
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