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SOLS: One Reason To Read This Book

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Thirteen Reasons WhyThirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


One reason to read this book: It was a great "listen"! Every time I got in my car, I listened. I made trips around town longer to listen. I sat in the school parking lot an additional 15 minutes to listen to the end this morning!  I had to listen.

First of all, I love how this book was written and how Jay Asher thought of the idea -- brilliant!

An issue like suicide is never simple or easy to understand. So many unanswered questions. So many unknowns. Reaching out for help. Subtle clues that can be missed because life is too busy. Everyone has a story to tell. And Hannah told her story. Just listen to the tapes.


This week I received this email and thought it was worth sharing. A simple, yet powerful example of how delicate we all are, especially our children:

A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stomp on it and really mess it up, but do not rip it.

Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty it was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said... they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it.

That is what happens when a child bully's another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home.

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Comments

  1. Linda BNovember 8, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    It's a marvelous, direct and simple way to show how powerful bullying is. I'm glad you shared Michelle, and about the book too. I have heard good things about it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Terje November 8, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Thank you for the book recommendation and the example. It is not easy for the students to understand that the things said and done can not be taken back. I find that it is a difficult concept even for some adults.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Libby SchwadeNovember 8, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    This is an amazing book. Amazing. Students love it. They connect with it. It's powerful. Thank you for reminding me of its power and message!

    ReplyDelete
  4. JenniferMNovember 8, 2011 at 4:35 PM

    Wow, thanks for sharing about the activity with the piece of paper. What a powerful visualization of how bullying affects someone!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Deb DayNovember 8, 2011 at 9:44 PM

    Love this book. I recommend it to students all year long. It is extremely powerful. Jay Asher has a great blog to if you care to check it out http://jayasher.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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