The Great Books Foundation Supports Oil Stricken Gulf Shores Community

Gulf Shores teachers Kelly Wallace, Kim Pennington, Kelly
Nelson, and Stacey Smith, were trained to begin teaching Great
Books this fall.

For students at Gulf Shores Elementary School on the Alabama coast, the summer of 2010 showed them how quickly life can change. With the Deepwater Horizon oil spill threatening beaches and businesses, news and clean-up crews descending on their town, and Jimmy Buffet holding a free concert to promote local tourism, students couldn’t escape the avalanche of worries gripping their community.

But thanks to principal Julie Pierce, Gulf Shores parent and city councilman Dr. Justin Dyken, and Mary Kent Sweeton, vice president of the Great Books Foundation, who donated a semester of materials, a new Great Books program will help both students and teachers process their anxieties about the oil spill.

“Great Books programs do more than improve reading and comprehension skills,” said Sweeton. “Reading and discussing literature connects students to universal human experiences such as injustice, powerlessness, change, and fear. Discussing stories and talking about characters experiencing challenges, helps students reflect on and process their reactions to a difficult situation,” she explained. “Students learn that sharing and listening makes them better equipped to cope with their own challenges.”

For Julie Pierce, the addition of Great Books couldn’t come at a better time. After recognizing that gifted students needed an enrichment program, Julie and her team—including parent volunteer Dr. Dyken—implemented weekly volunteer-led literature circles last year. Although fairly successful, Julie wanted more accountability and frequency than the circles provided. She and the county gifted coordinator were familiar with Great Books, and were drawn to the reflection the program encourages. As they worked on the 2010–2011 curriculum schedule, Julie and her team made time for all advanced 3-6 grade students to use Great Books daily during the 40-minute reading intervention block.

Funding the new program was Julie’s next challenge. She turned to Dr. Dyken, who serves on the city council’s education committee, for financial support. In spite of the strain of the oil spill, Dr. Dyken sought funds from the overwhelmed community. When Kent Sweeton heard of the situation, she decided to match those funds by donating second semester materials.

“As a nonprofit organization the Foundation can’t afford to donate materials,” said Sweeton, “but the extraordinary situation in Gulf Shores gives us a unique opportunity to respond to a crisis by improving education. Just as reading and discussing literature connects people, crisis does the same. All of us at the Foundation are happy to provide Gulf Shores students with a program that will help them learn and grow through these trying times and beyond.”

Julie is certain that Great Books is exactly what her gifted students need, and the tragedy of the oil spill confirms her belief. ‘Thanks to the generosity of the Foundation our students will have enough books for a year of Great Books,” she said. “I was excited to bring this program to our students before the stress of the spill, but now I’m even more certain that the benefits of the program will have a lasting impact on our students.”