Venom

Author: Michael Culbertson

Imagine you're trapped in the Amazon with no food or shelter. Your only goal is to survive the perilous threats that are thrown at you day in and day out. You hear a "hsss" from above. You look up to see a giant snake with its fangs out, ready to devour you. You cower in fear and it's too late to react. You brace for the warmth of being ingested by a venomous creature... but instead, you're embraced by the warmth of a hug.

This is one of numerous stories pitched to me that was turned into a movie poster by three ESL students that I serve with at R.J. Reynolds High School. ESL students have to go through intensive reading, speaking, and writing comprehension tests and activities. As a native English speaker, I was annoyed enough doing things like that in middle and high school, but I can't begin to imagine the immense pressure that's felt by someone who has to learn English in an unfamiliar space.

We try to make it more engaging and fun by allowing them to be creative and telling stories that mean something to them. With "Venom," the theme is about acceptance and learning not to judge a book by its cover, which really resonates with this group of students who tend to feel out of place and lost in a country that they've only lived in for about a year now. It differs from my own journey of self-acceptance, but that's the magic of storytelling: themes are universal across all languages and cultures.

This movie poster is just one of many examples of stories we hear pitched at R.J. Reynolds, and it's a testament to how creative this little slice of the school can be and that they're ready to share their voices to the world!