What an Inspiration

I Am Malala has long been on my reading list and man was it worth the read.  Malala Yousafzai is a remarkable young lady who has fought, and is still fighting, for a girls right to education.  When the Taliban started exerting more influence in her home country of Pakistan, Malala refused to stand down.  She kept speaking out for education, especially for girls, and eventually the Taliban attacked her on her way home from school.  Amazingly Malala recovered and she refuses to stop fighting.  Her family has had to relocate but Malala keeps speaking up from her new home in England.

When you see how hard Malala fought for a simple school house with just a chalkboard it makes you extremely grateful to live in a country where education for girls isn't just encouraged it's mandatory.  Not to mention the beautiful school buildings and awesome technology like smart boards that I get to use every day in my teaching.

Malala made me proud to be a woman and a teacher.  She inspired me to keep teaching, because education really is the only way to change the world.  She is younger than me but she is still one of my heroes.  I want to be more like Malala.

This book is a must-read.  Seriously, go out and buy it.  If you have younger readers pick up the Young Readers Edition (that's what I read since it's a Reading Olympics book for the 2015-2016 school year).  This edition also contains a time line of important events since many young readers are unaware of the tensions in the middle east.

Changing the world (literally)...that's kids stuff. 

PS.   To help Malala change the world as she works to provide universal access to education check out the Malala fund.  I've never asked for money on this blog before and I don't plan to make it a habit, but I hope you consider donating to this worthy cause.