The fifth graders listened attentively to author Valerie Goldstein read “Violet’s Victory,” the empowering story of a violet-haired hero who uses an adaptive bicycle to compete in the school race.
“Is this book about you?” asked of the students during the Q&A portion.
Perhaps only then did some of the students take in that the author with the big smile and bright hair stood with the aid of forearm crutches and a leg brace.
Goldstein’s visit was a meaningful capstone to Meadow Pond Elementary’s December focus on learning about different disabilities, and the school's overall goal of belonging.
“Students in each grade have been learning about one specific disability,” said Principal Ashlyn Field. “Goldstein met specifically with the kindergarten and fifth grade because the youngest students have been focusing on physical impairments, and the oldest students have been learning about acquired disabilities.”
The sequence, called Learning to Include, was developed by members of SEPTO in collaboration with teams from each of Katonah-Lewisboro’s elementary schools.
Goldstein told the students that "Violet’s Victory" was semi-autobiographical. “I was in a car accident at age 17,” she said. Before her spinal cord injury, she ran track, which is why she envisioned Violet participating in a race.
She said that she wrote the book because she wanted to show a child with a disability succeeding. Her next book is about adaptive surfing. “Disabilities are not a big focal point,” she said. “They are just there in the background of the story.”
After her presentation, on the way back to class, several students came to the front to look at her collection of toys, including a miniature sports wheelchair—the kind you could play basketball in, a doll-sized walker and a toy service dog. Other students came to speak to Goldstein.
“I like your hair,” they said. A conversation about red and purple hair came naturally. It was just as Goldstein hoped for—disabilities were not the focal point. They were just there.
