Ben Mikaelsen teaches Mount
Pulaski students to author of their own lives
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[October 18, 2017]
MOUNT
PULASKI
On
Monday, October 16, author Ben Mikaelsen spoke to a group of very
attentive students at Mount Pulaski Grade School.
Mikaelsen's website describes him as someone who "has a passion for
helping kids break out of labels and discover their own special
genius." His messages provide a "Bully-Free stance" with an "impact
on children and adults alike."
In
Mikaelsen's presentation to third through fifth grade students, he
spoke about "Becoming the Author of Your Own Life" He hoped "to
teach the students how to reach their full potential and motivate
them to read and write on their own."
Mikaelsen shared his life story with students as he talked about his
struggles and becoming a writer.
Mikaelsen said when he was around their age, he could not spell
simple words, did not know what a sentence was, and had handwriting
that looked like chicken scratch. He started his formal education in
fourth grade at a boarding school.
As a
fair skinned child in Bolivia, Mikaelsen did not look like the other
children, who beat him up and smeared mud in his face so he would
look like them. The children called him a dummy. Mikaelsen did not
want to be different.
Mikaelsen said the school's teachers and headmaster were very
strict. At bedtime, lights went out they were told to go to sleep
"now." Mikaelsen had a lot of ideas in his head and started taking a
piece of paper to bed at night to practice writing his letters
hiding under the covers with a flashlight. The headmaster caught him
one night and took his flashlight, but still he wrote.
Mikaelsen moved to the United States when he was in sixth grade and
discovered children in Minnesota looked like him. He decided to show
off and dress up the first day in knicker shorts, a white blouse,
suspenders, a bow tie, and black and white saddle shoes, but
immediately got called a dumb dork by a girl he thought was cute.
Mikaelsen thought he could do well playing football, not realizing
that the football he was used to playing was really American soccer.
He did not understand why the football was pointed on both ends and
he kicked the ball instead of carrying it. The other boys thought
Mikaelsen was an idiot and he got beat up that day and every day.
Mikaelsen said three things changed his future:
1. He discovered he could write anything on a piece of paper and
others would never tease him, so he learned to write stories. In
one, he was the smartest kid in the whole universe.
2. He started liking animals and over the years has raised cats,
dogs, sled dogs, gerbils, a snake, and a bear. Animals did not care
what color Mikaelsen was, how he dressed, or how smart he was.
3. He decided to start being himself after getting beat up one day.
Mikaelsen went and stared out at a lake and realized he was not
dumb.
The first book Mikaelsen read was about a seagull who did not want
to get picked on anymore and learned to dive down faster than the
other seagulls.
One day Mikaelsen canoed to the nearby lake and began jumping off
cliffs, though he could not really swim. He started out doing belly
flips but could soon dive from 50 feet up. A bully who heard about
Mikaelsen's diving told him, "you're crazy," but did not beat him
up.
When Mikaelsen wanted to learn to fly an airplane but his parents
could not afford the lesson, he started earning money doing odd jobs
and paid for his own lessons. He rode his bike to the airport even
in cold Minnesota winters with children throwing snowballs at him to
knock him off his bike.
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Mikaelsen said if you have a dream, you need to make
it come true. He said bullies are so insecure and he is still angry
about how they treated him. Mikaelsen would love to have a time
machine and show them he followed his dreams.
Mikaelsen became a skydiving champion, got an altitude record for
parachuting, dove over seventy feet off a cliff, and co-piloted a
plane to the North Pole, but was still labeled. He said every school
has students who do not fit in, but names stick like glue.
Mikaelsen got F's in English, but kept telling his stories.
Mikaelsen said he scored at a fifth-grade level in English
comprehension on the college entrance exam, but because his dad
worked at a college, he was able to go to Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minnesota without meeting the entrance requirements.
When Mikaelsen wrote his first one page essay, he put his heart and
soul into it. Mikaelsen said most words were misspelled,
punctuations was in the wrong place, and handwriting was illegible.
The professor corrected it with so many red marks, it looked like a
"pizza."
Mikaelsen said the professor asked to meet with him and told
Mikaelsen he had serious difficulties with the English language, but
was a brilliant writer and storyteller whose story made the
professor laugh and cry.
The professor had Mikaelsen meet with a tutor every day to help with
the basics.
Years later, Mikaelsen has written several books and
won awards. He said characters are loosely based on his life. His
book Touching Spirit Bear will soon be on the big screen.
Mikaelsen showed students a slideshow of what goes
into a day of writing. In many photos, he was with Buffy, his rescue
bear who died four years ago. Mikaelsen often sat with Buffy as he
wrote and also read a lot of his stories to Buffy, who sometimes ate
the papers.
Mikaelsen said he starts days spending quiet time meditating on his
day and reminding himself he is the author of that day's chapter.
Mikaelsen does not know anyone who has more fun than him. He has
been around the world in his adventures.
Mikaelsen said bullies often feel tiny and inadequate, so they pick
on others to make themselves feel better. He told students, "you
have a chance to become something magnificent. How you act is how
you become."
Mikaelsen said the biggest, strongest people are those who control
themselves. To be strong is to be kind, gentle, and respectful.
Mikaelsen closed by telling students they need to tell the most
important story of their lives called "the rest of your life" and to
"make it the most fantastic story ever told."
Mikaelsen met with other age groups at the school throughout the day
tailoring lessons to their level.
[Angela Reiners]
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] From the
author's website:
Author Ben Mikaelsen, has won the International Reading
Association Award and the Western Writer's Golden Spur Award.
In addition, his novels have won many state Reader's Choice awards.
These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red,
Stranded, Countdown, Petey, Touching Spirit Bear, Red Midnight, Tree
Girl and Ghost of Spirit Bear. His novels, Rescue Josh McGuire,
Petey and Touching Spirit Bear have also been optioned for screen
use.
Ben's articles and photos have appeared in numerous magazines around
the world. His novels have been carried by Scholastic and Troll book
fairs, and are recorded on unabridged audio tape with recorded
books. Recently Ben was featured nationally on Jack Hanna's Animal
Adventures and also on German national TV.
Ben has a passion for helping kids break out of labels and discover
their own special genius. More than just an author, Ben is a
seasoned speaker with a unique ability to impact children and adults
alike. His Bully-Free stance is far more than a mere wrist-band
approach. His presentations, coupled with the powerful messages in
his books, like Touching Spirit Bear, have been referenced in People
Magazine and have affected positive change in countless students the
world over.
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