MOTHER AND SON ARE PUBLISHED AUTHORS

Takeshi James has writ- ten a book titled, “From Our Eyes.” Her son, Kyle Xavier James, has written a book titled, “Teacher Legion Heroes of the Universe.” Photos provided by Takeshi James
Takeshi James has writ- ten a book titled, “From Our Eyes.” Her son, Kyle Xavier James, has written a book titled, “Teacher Legion Heroes of the Universe.” Photos provided by Takeshi James

 Mother and son are published authors

BY TIA CAROL JONES
    Takeshi James is the principal at Avalon Park Fine and Performing Arts School. Her son, Kyle Xavier James, is a senior at St. Rita of Cascia High School. Both are published authors.
Takeshi James said she was inspired to write “From Our Eyes” not only because she is an educator and watches students everyday, but because she is a parent, who watches her son interact with his friends in a different way than she ever experienced.
     “When I think about how the racial inequalities are today, I thought that I’d really gear toward middle school and teaching them how to encourage one another to be great, to see the greatness in each other, and to really capitalize on greatness, so their visions, dreams and goals can come to fruition,” she said.
      Takeshi said she wanted to focus on middle school students because that is the age where they are the still impressionable, right before they hit high school. She said those years are one more chance before they are in the world to show them what is great about them.
     “Part of the book, I offer as reflection opportunity for them to really see themselves because they’ve read about others, they’ve encouraged and heard that encouragement, now who am I and who do I want to become. For who I am, no matter what the circumstances, that I’m currently in, I can become greater than that,” she said.
    Takeshi said the biggest takeaway from the book she wants readers to get is to find the goodness in someone else, to treat people with kindness.
    “Some adults have read the book and they’ve actually participated and did the homework. They completed the homework, and they were able to reflect, even as adults, on yeah, this is where I am in life, but I never thought about what the vision truly was for me. So, I really want them to be able to get a sense of who they are, but this is my brother, this is my sister, how do I encourage them to be great, as well,” she said.
    Takeshi said she hopes parents will have conversations with their children. “I hope they are able to sit at the dinner table together and have a conversation about who they are and who they inspire to be, but not only that, what legacy will they leave behind,” she said, adding that she and her son are leaving a legacy behind with their books.
    Kyle James said he got the idea to write “Teacher Legion Heroes of the Universe” while talking with his mom and realizing he had a story to tell. “From hearing my mom and seeing her every day, her grind, her passion, her work ethic as being an educator, I realized how unappreciated teachers really are,” he said.
     Kyle said he was trying to figure out how to glorify teachers. He said he always loved superheroes, so he decided to make them superheroes. He geared the book towards young children all the way up to middle school aged children.
    “The Teach Legion is comprised of the entire school staff, whether it be engineers, custodians, lunch helpers, it’s all of those people who make the school environment work to perfection. Those people are heavily undervalued and I just wanted to shine the light on them really bright,” he said.
     Kyle wrote the book during a four-day retreat Catholic students attend called Kairos. He said each night, he would write a bit of the book. He said it didn’t take long to get his thoughts together and the characters, and to put them down on paper. He said it took about three to four days.
     “I want young children to come out of reading my book with a much greater level of appreciation and much greater respect for school staff. We’ve all had that one teacher who made a difference in our life, or that one relationship with a custodian or engineer,” said Kyle.
     Kyle said he remembers having a great relationship with a lunch helper. He said those connections make a difference. “People don’t understand how important educators are to the future. When people say what do you want to be when you grow up, lawyer, doctor, NFL player, but people don’t hold teachers and people that create that atmosphere to such a high esteem. That was my goal, for the youth to understand how important educators are and how much they mean to the youth and society as a whole,” he said.
    “Teacher Legion Heroes of the Universe” is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Walmart and eBay. “From Our Eyes” is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

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