brother’s diagnosis, Steven was a
wisecracking adolescent and gifted
drummer. As his brother goes through
grueling treatment, Steven eventually
learns to put others first, especially
the needs of his brother and family. In
the final chapters, Steven and friends
organize an act of compassion - a
concert to raise funds to ease the costs
of his brother’s treatment.
In correlation with the assignment,
Stephanie Scoletti, founder and
Director of Young Adult Cancer
Support for the Pittsburgh-based
Cancer Caring Center, visited classes
to discuss the trials of living with
cancer. At the age of 19, Scoletti was
diagnosed with leukemia. During
her treatment, she felt isolated as
her life was put on hold. Now cancer-
free for 14 years, Scoletti works to
support 18-to 39-year-old cancer
patients and survivors. She spoke to
students about her experience with
cancer, encouraging them to reach
out and make an impact by showing
compassion and being kind.
As a final project in the classroom,
Mrs. Carroll asked students to parallel
the life of two main characters in
the novel as a basis for researching a
type of childhood cancer. Students
were then asked to explore several
acts of compassion that might be
implemented to aid a cancer victim.
Classes then completed a writing
assignment to substantiate their
research and acts of compassion.
Students agreed the assignment
was eye opening. Most admitted it is
difficult to know what people are really
going through when they have cancer
and they learned that even little
gestures can make a big difference.