Free Lunch – Rex Ogle
Genre: Middle Grade, Memoir
Source: I
purchased a copy
Middle school is tough. Most sixth graders feel like a fish
out of water on the first day. There are class changes, often it is a new
school and then, there is lunch. For Rex Ogle his first year in sixth grade is
made tougher by the fact his mom has signed him up for free lunch at his
school. He must tell the lunch lady each time he gets lunch that he is on the
free program. This is such an embarrassment for him, especially since he has to
shout it since the lunch lady can’t hear him. Rex has told his story so
honestly it is raw. You feel for him when they are evicted and must live in
government housing. It wasn’t bad enough everyone he was once friends with
knows he gets free lunch. Their new housing sits close enough to the school
that everyone will soon know how poor he is.
As a teacher I found myself very irritated at the teacher who decided
Rex would be a trouble maker simply on first impressions. I am not naïve enough
to think that all teachers are compassionate. I have worked with many teachers
that made me wonder why they became a teacher. It wasn’t because they truly
loved children. Their behavior told a different story. This story resonates
with all kids at all levels. I understood how Rex felt. We went through a
financial crisis when I was a teen. I chose not to eat lunch and tell others I just
wasn’t hungry. It was less embarrassing. Poverty hits children of all colors
and all ages. Thankfully today, students scan their ID card for lunch. No one
needs to know if they get free lunch or not. This book has a long waiting list
in my class. I recommend it to all teens.
No comments:
Post a Comment