Monday Moment - A Scary Book

I finished a novel this morning – a book I’d put off reading because of its difficult subject matter, but one I now think that every parent, teacher, bus driver, playground or cafeteria monitor ought to read. The book is Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult, which tells the story of nineteen minutes during which one student killed ten others, wounded more, and terrified all residents of a small New Hampshire town.

The shooting is of course tragic and frightening, but the story that Piccoult tells of the shooter’s childhood of victimization at the hands of his classmates – that’s what might keep me awake at night.

It’s a novel, so I tell myself that Piccoult might have exaggerated the brutality of school – for this young man and even for the ‘popular’ kids who saw themselves as one mistake away from falling from grace. I tell myself that ‘it can’t happen here’ in my community because we embarked on a character education initiative to instill positive social values like respect and caring in our students over ten years ago. I tell myself that kids can be braver than we see in the book, and that adults are more aware.

And yet despite what I tell myself, I fear. I fear because Piccoult describes in such compelling fashion – without excusing either the shooting or the bullying that led up to it – that every child and every family were victims and nobody got out unscathed.

The thing that may perhaps calm my fear – beyond the blessed numbing that does come with time and having to face daily life – is that in Piccoult’s story, the shooting did not need to happen. Had adults stepped in effectively and decisively on the first day of kindergarten and on dozens of other occasions in this young man’s school life, had adults taught all children that to bully and intimidate another is not acceptable and can have awful consequences for both the bully and the bullied, had adults taught children how to engage real courage, then tragedy could have been averted.

Of course then Piccoult wouldn’t have a story to tell. But I fervently hope her story will not be repeated in any real-life community because adults are doing all they can to prevent it. I want to believe that adults are teaching children to be kind – and are paying close enough attention to correct children when they succumb to cruelty.

The fear comes back because I know that even then – when the very best of intention for every child has been put to excellent use – even then the unspeakable can happen. But just in case? Please ask every parent and educator you know to read this book – and then to do everything they can to protect all children from bullies as well as bullets.

May you have a safe and helpful week.

Sally

PS – I’ve updated my website and by popular request have included 10 Great Quotes on goal-setting this month. Take a look at www.healthypeoplelearn.com!