Students teamed up with a group of 10th-grade English Honors students from Schenectady High to discuss Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” Tuesday in South College.
The idea for a group discussion was a natural; the high school students had recently read the best-selling novel about the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant in Afghanistan. Students in Blue and Sorum Houses were assigned to read the heartbreaking story in the last two years.
“This partnership stemmed from an interest by the English Honors teachers,” said Katherine Lynes, assistant professor of English at Union. “The high school students benefited from the active participation in transferring what they learned in the classroom to a college experience. Union students were charged with facilitating the discussions and keeping the questions on point. The exercise provided valuable experience in facilitating group dynamics.”
The two-hour discussion was coordinated by Angela Blair, assistant director of community outreach at the Kenney Community Center, and Tom McEvoy, associate dean of students and director of Minerva Programs.
Students also were treated to a lunch in Old Chapel and a talk by Alireza Jawanshir, a 26-year-old kite maker who recounted his experience emigrating from Afghanistan in 2001.
Participating from Union were Don Austin, AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer at the Kenney Community Center, Jyoti Bankapur ’09, Andrew Camden ’09, Sarah Conner ’10, Ivy Jiang ’10, Emma Labrot ’09, Maggie Levine ’09, Nicole McRuiz ’09, Caroline Tulp ’11 and Brad Wilhelm ’10.
“The Kite Runner” is this year’s selection for the Schenectady County Public Library’s annual “One County, One Book” community read program.
The book "provides a structure to explore the political, cultural and historical aspects of Afghanistan while fostering critical thinking and respect for cultural diversity,” said Karen Bradley, a librarian with the county, which has seen an increase in its Afghan population.
The county library has scheduled a number of events centered around the book. For more information, contact Bradley at (518) 388-4533 or visit: http://www.onecountyonebook.org/2008/events.html.