Yesterday my class had the privilege of meeting Andrew Taafuli Fiu who is the author of a novel I am reading to my class. The novel is about Andrew's life and how he has overcome years of challenges from having rheumatic fever at a young age.
Yesterday Andrew's message was about never giving up and always pursuing your goals. He counselled the students to work for their goals and to ensure they finish tasks they start. He also reinforced the importance of gaining an education as it is the key to success.
He too really believes in being readers. Although he is not a trained writer, he decided to write about his life to tell his story. He had many challenges in writing the book and finding a publisher but he never gave up.
He told many stories about his life and was pleasantly surprised to learn how much the students knew about his journey as a child and adult going in and out of hospitals.
Yesterday's visit from Andrew was a powerful and meaningful experience for my class. They were just beaming with questions and excitement during and after Andrew's visit.
Watching the engagement of the students was a wonderful experience. Novel reading in my class is a time where we take a break and focus on reading for enjoyment.
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