Resurrection Catholic School fourth grade students regularly share classroom projects on social media via Twitter. With the handle @Grade4RCS, the class has now become part of a group of students participating in sending one special book across the United States to share with other students.
Made famous by the 1938 movie “Boys Town” starring Spencer Tracy, the story begins with Father Edward Flanagan, a real-life priest who opened a home for boys in 1917. Still operating today as a place serving the needs of children of all backgrounds, Boys Town inspired the book “Dearest Children” by Eli Hernandez.
A group of teachers who communicate on Twitter are sharing one copy of “Dearest Children” which they read, sign, then send to another classroom in a different state. The book began its trek in Omaha, Neb., at St. Margaret Mary School and will be read in classrooms in New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with the list growing as it goes. Teachers share their thoughts about the book on Twitter with hashtag #saintbooktrek. Flanagan is now being considered for sainthood, a process that can take many years.
Resurrection teacher Sylvia Buller said the book aligns with the lessons students have in school. The book uses Flanagan’s actual words to spark discussions.
“It’s all about the good inside you, diversity and respecting others, standing up for people and accepting people with difficult problems,” she said.
In simple language for children in grades K-5, the book states a question on each page that contains a message, such as, “Have you heard we are all one people?” The opposite page contains a Flanagan quote that spurs discussion. “I see no disaster threatening us because of any particular race, creed or color.”
Author and illustrator Eli Hernandez used historical photographs from Flanagan’s time and his own children’s faces to create the book’s drawings. Thumbnails of the drawings and the actual photographs are detailed in the back of the book and offer a glimpse into the man and the times in which he lived.
The original Boys Town is located in Omaha but there now exist Boys Town branches all over the world.