Dallas, TX, – When Michelle Stimpson first began writing short stories for her students eleven years ago at Sunset High School in Dallas, she had no idea the undertaking would spur her toward a career in writing. “Initially, I started writing these stories because my students wouldn’t read the passages I left with the substitute teacher,” Stimpson admits. What began as a need to keep the students on track turned into a bit of an obsession. “After a while, the students were asking me when I was going to be absent again so they could read another one of my stories.”
Ever optimistic, Michelle took their quasi-compliment as encouragement and decided to pursue writing seriously. Five novels later, Michelle returns to her first audience – reluctant readers – to encourage them again. She established an educational publishing company, Right Track Academic Support Services, LLC, and released the highly successful Moment of Truth kit in the fall of 2008.
The kit is a collection of short stories, informational articles, multi-media tools and comprehension activities aimed at struggling high school readers. Students meet characters who struggle with real-life issues including drug abuse, harmful pranks, date rape, relentless bullies, and club initiation gone wrong. She sees her work as helping students understand the consequences of bad choices. Joining Stimpson in the effort to reach today’s youth are several publishers who target urban readership through non-traditional literature.
Not everyone agrees with the controversial subject matter, however. Bobbie Castell, Vice Principal at an alternative high school in Garland, TX, wonders if the publishers of such material are doing more harm than good. “The characters in these kinds of novels don’t always represent good role models for our kids,” Castell comments. “We have to be careful that we don’t reinforce negative stereotypes in the name of reaching at-risk students.”
The impact of this brand of controversial literature is yet to be determined. Will these students become life-long readers? Will they associate reading with pleasure? Perhaps an acclaimed academic writer said it best with his self-defined term: Readicide - the systematic killing of the love of reading. Urban, realistic literature is definitely a step toward preventing the loss of one of America’s great past times.
A second set of stories have just been released. For a sample of realistic literature from the Moment of Truth kit, visit www.wegottaread.com.
