Teaching Fellow: Lucy (AFAS)

After Citizen Schools went virtual, Argenziano students and teaching fellows were looking for ways to keep up the sense of community they had created during the school year. I proposed a virtual book club, where the scholars and I would read the same book and come together once a week to discuss it.

6th graders Molly and Anarghya brought life to the idea. They suggested the club read a book called “Fever: 1793” by Laurie Halse Anderson. It follows 14-year-old Matilda, who grows up quickly when the Yellow Fever Epidemic strikes Philadelphia. She finds herself taking care of family members who formerly took care of her, recovers from the fever herself, and watches people’s varied reactions to the epidemic as the city she grew up in changes before her eyes. Molly and Anarghya suggested this book because they thought it might connect to the situation we’re currently facing with COVID-19—and it most certainly did. This book yielded rich discussions of comparisons between the Yellow Fever in 1793 and the Coronavirus in 2020 (see image below), as well as thoughtful reflection on our own emotions and experiences that relate to the character Matilda. Meeting with Molly and Anarghya was one of the highlights of my week this spring—I’m so proud of their introspection, intelligence and kind hearts! To see some of the shenanigans we got up to, scroll down to watch the movie trailer Anarghya created for the book at the end of our time together.

 
“Similarities and differences: Yellow Fever 1793 and COVID-19.” A list created on the Zoom whiteboard feature during one of our meetings.

“Similarities and differences: Yellow Fever 1793 and COVID-19.” A list created on the Zoom whiteboard feature during one of our meetings.