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Canfield Village Middle School teaches kindness
CANFIELD
Canfield Village Middle School eighth-graders got a refresher lesson on kindness.
Rose Seitz, mother of Freddie Seitz, came to talk about being kind with students Friday afternoon.
Freddie Seitz was born with Goldenhar Syndrome, a craniofacial syndrome that left him without a right ear, cheek or jawbone.
Seitz has overcome many obstacles in his life and just recently graduated from the University of Akron. He has started speaking at many local schools about acceptance.
Freddie was unable to come this year due to a job he got in Indiana, but Rose Seitz came on his behalf.
Sabrina Eaton, eighth-grade language arts teacher, said Seitz was brought in as part of her monthly speaker series themed “Everyone’s story matters.”
“We bring in people from the community to share their stories with our students,” Eaton explained. “Remember, everyone has a story, and everyone has gone through something that has changed them.”
Rose Seitz’s storytelling came into play with the class’s most recent reading, “Wonder,” a novel by R.J. Palacio.
The book is about a boy with a craniofacial syndrome and his experiences navigating middle school.
“It’s neat because we have a piece of literature we’ve read come to life for them,” Eaton said.
Students got the message.
Eighth-grader Ethan Whited said the big emphasis was choosing kind – and that’s what he took away from the speaker.
“Treat everyone the same, no matter the way they look,” agreed Nick Magliocca.
Another lesson Eaton said students learned was to appreciate the small things.
“Students today need to do more listening and less posting and talking,” she said. “They’re missing the small things, and I’m trying to teach them about adversity and using kindness.”
Eaton said she’s having much success with her monthly speaker series.
“I’m grateful for my administration. They are always very supportive with exposing students to things they might not seek out on their own,” she said. “I’m bringing it to them. We are teaching the whole child, not just reading or writing, but we are preparing them for the world beyond these walls.”