Opening A New World Though Story 'Boys 2 Books' Gives Safe Haven For Learning
DETROIT (WWJ) - A Detroit area teacher is trying to make a difference in the lives of young men by showing them their futures can be inside the covers of a book.
WWJ Newsradio 950's Marie Osborne has the story.
High school teacher Eddie Connor said he founded "Boys 2 Books" because he noticed something about his young students.
"I would see a young man open up a book and his eyes was closed," he said.
Connor said he knew opening the world of books could change some lives.
"My biological father wasn't really in my life, and I wanted to do something that I didn't have," he said.
"Really what I wanted to do with Boys 2 Books is to create a place, a safe haven where young males could come together under the guise of reading and see that reading is cool, reading is significant," he said.
Conner, a stage-four cancer survivor, selects books that he believes will make a difference in the lives of the young men in the program.
"I provide culturally relevant literature where the young men see themselves reflected in what they read, such as books like 'We Beat The Street,' a pact about three young men who grew up in Newark, New Jersey who overcame crime and drugs and violence," he said.
He also opens his doors to community leaders:
"Bringing in a diversity of males in the community, primarily in the city of Detroit, to show that you can be a businessman, you can be an engineer, you can be a teacher, you can be a community innovator, you can even come from prison and overcome those obstacles and now be an influential figure in your community."
For more information on Boys 2 Books, click on HERE.
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