Elementary Students Learn to Be Like Victor Hugo's Bird

This year, I have the pleasure of teaching literature to our school's Elementary 1 students, children in second and third grades, a class that includes my own seven-year-old daughter Lana. Their uninhibited enthusiasm for learning, their eager quest to see connections, and their budding insights make them a delight to teach.

The first poem I introduced them to was "The Bird," by Victor Hugo.

Be like the bird, who

Pausing in his flight

On limb too slight

Feels it give way beneath him

Yet sings

Knowing he has wings.

We discussed what it means for the bird to "sing," "knowing he has wings," and we discussed what it would mean for them to "have wings" in their own lives: to be confident, self-possessed, secure in the understanding that you can overcome obstacles that might come in your way.

Soon after, we read the novel "A Door in the Wall," the story of a boy named Robin who is supposed to be apprenticed to a knight but loses the use of his legs and must find new meaning for his life. He does so brilliantly: learning to read and write, and then serve his lord and lady in the writing of letters; learning to whittle, sing, and play, and then making crutches and his own harp; and finally, building strength of body and character by swimming, and eventually playing a heroic role in the defense of his castle. He finds "a door in the wall." . . .

About Lisa VanDamme

Lisa VanDamme is the founder of VanDamme Academy, a private K-8 school where she teaches literature to junior high students. After decades inspiring children with a love of reading, she recently embarked on a project to do the same for adults, creating a book club app called “Read With Me” that is dedicated to helping readers connect emotionally with the classics.

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