How One Lesson Changed One Life
<p><em>By</em> <em>Melody Lucas</em></p>
<p>When I first started teaching Pre-Advanced Placement World Geography to high schoolers, I was looking for ways to differentiate that class from the advanced and on-level classes. </p>
<p>I attended a training session one summer that covered the topic of human trafficking. It was one of the first times human trafficking came to my attention, particularly as a topic to teach in school.</p>
<p>After the training, I knew how powerful that information was, and I wanted to share it with my students. Due to the very sensitive nature of the topic, I was very careful in my planning and incorporated a lot of discussion time. </p>
<p>Like me, I could see human trafficking pulled at the heartstrings of many students, especially when we discussed the recent tsunami that hit parts of Asia and Africa, and the great concern over the number of children who could have been taken and sold because their families didn’t know if they were dead or alive.</p>
<p>One of my students stayed after school for three straight days to discuss it with me. It was obvious this topic really struck a nerve with him. Although it was very engaging for the students, I was sure not to spend too much time on the topic because it was not considered part of my state’s essential knowledge and skills, and I simply chose it as an extension topic for differentiation.</p>
<p>When I was at another school five years later and teaching a completely different subject, I received an email from the boy who stayed after school those three days. </p>
<p>He was in college and wanted me to know my lesson on human trafficking led him to pursue helping find ways to stop it. In fact, he was selected as a United Nations Youth Council member to specifically address human trafficking. </p>
<p>I emailed him back and told him how proud I was of him for pursuing this passion and my hope for him to help find solutions. Who would have thought one lesson would lead someone to find their way onto the United Nations Youth Council?</p>
<p><em>Melody Lucas is a veteran social studies teacher at Fort Settlement Middle School in Sugar Land, TX. She is also a member of the Bill of Rights Institute Teacher Council.</em></p>