Wednesday, April 20, 2005
When a child needs your love...
Now, you may know that I'm not a very fast reader ... so often, picking up a new book is intimidating for me. But you may notice that I finished my Jonathan Kellerman novel (my favorite murder-mystery writer), and have started reading a book called "We Need to talk about Kevin". This book is a novel - fiction - and is written as letters from a woman to her husband from whom she is separated. Their son is the killer in a high-school massacre.
I am always deeply moved by events in which children are hurt in school settings. For example, the recent school bus accident here in Arlington (I taught two older siblings of the girl who died) or the shootings at the reservation high school in Wisconsin or the shootings at Columbine. My feelings are that kids should go to school and come home and be entirely safe during the time they spend inbetween.
This book was recommended to me by a colleague who wants to discuss it when I'm finished (she might not realize that it will take me six months or so to get to the end). She says that it's terrifying and disturbing and very well-written. I can't say that I'm looking forward to reading it, but I really want a better understanding of what will drive a child to do such a thing. Maybe this understanding will help me be a better teacher to the kids who are difficult to understand (who are always my favorites).
I bring all of this up because you WILL be hearing about this book as I work my way through it. I'll end this post with a quote from Erma Bombeck (found in the front of the book):
"A child needs your love most when he deserves it least."
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