Heather McCarthy

McCarthy’s innovative teaching idea, “Teaching Tolerance Book Talks,” focuses on creating a program at Oak Lawn Hometown Middle School where the students will be exposed to multicultural books addressing important topics such as diversity, tolerance, acceptance, and empathy. Students involved in the project will have an opportunity to read books that discuss these issues which can normally generate fearful responses. They will then be tasked with creating a series of videos detailing the valuable lessons learned within book, allowing them to share their message broadly with their peers. With the support of the Voya grant, McCarthy hopes that students will be challenged to discuss how the knowledge learned can be applied to their individual environments and ultimately create a more inclusive and accepting community.