Cultivating Courage: Leadership Lessons from Don’t Feed the Lion

GRADE LEVEL: Middle School

Don’t Feed the Lion by Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi explores the story of antisemitism growing at Oakdale Middle School. The story begins with Theo Kaplan, a 13-year-old Chicago middle schooler and soccer captain. Theo’s world is turned upside down when his soccer idol makes a viral antisemitic comment and later when Theo discovers a swastika drawn on his gym locker. Theo is left to grapple with his own reaction to the graffiti, along with the prejudice and apathy from his teammates and administration and the reactions from his family members. Joined by a new friend, Gabe; his co-captain and best friend, Connor; his younger sister, Annie and his parents and grandparents, Theo struggles through his initial desire to ignore the hate and focus on soccer and ultimately learns about the impact of bigotry on himself and his community. The middle grades novel Don’t Feed the Lion can be used to spark a conversation with young people about different leadership styles and the importance of young people’s leadership in the face of incidents.

In this activity students will:

• Discuss and reflect on what it means to be a leader
• Analyze leadership profiles of the main characters from Don’t Feed the Lion.
• Create and reflect on their own leadership profiles