Teaching 101: They Never Prepped You for Monsters
How far will you go to save a soul? How can you be a hero if you do not know whom you are trying to fight? Even if you know the monster before you, how can you beat Goliath if you are minus a sling shot?
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| This image provided by Barnaby Walker. |
Tory Hayden somehow found it possible to tackle all of these questions over the course of half a school year in a classroom of nine students with special needs. Among those nine children stood one stubborn, silent, violent mess of a little girl who would start a nuclear war if it meant that she could keep herself hidden from the world beneath a very thick, rock-solid shell in which she covered herself.
The novel, One Child, from the perspective of Tory Hayden is a book covering so many topics from corporal punishment to obedience to child abuse to morals to a love for teaching that is too strong for anyone to fully understand. Based on a very true story of a little girl who was born into a family with an alcoholic for a father, a disappearing act for a mother, a sexually abusive uncle, and one teacher that refused to give up on her.
This one child, Sheila, only six years of age, had already set a child on fire, caused absolute chaos in the classroom, ran amuck, killed classroom pets, fought with other students, stabbed a teacher, and brought all of her pain, rage, and protective instincts everywhere she treaded as if she were Godzilla running rampant. Although Sheila's crimes had just about sealed her fate as a criminal before hitting puberty, somehow Tory Hayden, a special education teacher, turned a once ferocious monster into a proper young lady.
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| This image provided by Denisse Alarcon. |
The reviews for this novel have nothing but absolute praise for the utter honesty Hayden shares as well as her miraculous ability to transform a child who, without her, would have been doomed. In regards to One Child, The New York Times declares: "Parts of this book will enrage you. Parts of this book may make you cry. And parts may make you cheer. But whatever your reaction, I think you will agree that it has been a long time since you have read a book with the sheer emotional impact of One Child."
When I first read this story for my freshman seminar in the fall, I was reading with awareness as my field of study is in education. I was immediately captured by Tory's story as she incorporated so much humor, incite, and feeling from her point of view. It was not until the end of the novel that I felt my heart being truly wrecked by all of the events that took place, taking me on a ride through my emotions like a kid riding on Fahrenheit for the first time.
With every new chapter, I held my breath. I hoped that progress was being made and that Sheila and Tory were improving, only to have my expectational boat rocked around a bit or completely upturned. As an education major, I found this novel an absolute must-read and encourage any other teachers-to-be to dive right into this story chalk full of life lessons and common ideology that may serve as your only life raft during the hurricanes of the educational world.
For those of you who are not education majors, this novel will still grasp your heart and tug you into its pages in an instant. There are so many morals debated, familial and civic issues discussed, and an overall insight to some of the hardest struggles the people around us may be battling in silence.
This book will change how you see the world and particularly the people you pass by every day.
Carly, even though my career plans are not leading me to education, I think this sounds like an awesome book. I always enjoy a good thriller - and in this case an emotional one - that puts me on a rollercoaster track of feelings. As a college student, my life tends to become monotonous day in and day out and I never really face and huge problems. However, through the world of a book, one can experience all of these emotions in a single weekend. Books really are magical.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love your title for this post! And this book, although not something I would typically pick up off of the shelf, sounds fantastic. There is nothing quite like the feeling of reading those final few words and feeling as though you could take on the world, or that you will never see the world in the same way ever again. Sometimes a story of an impossible task and the emotional ups and downs it takes to get there is the best kind!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this novel but you instantly had me hooked. The topic is so raw and unusual that I am sure it was a ground breaking book. Most people don't have the patience to deal with unruly, and as you put it "Godzilla" like children. I know from personal experience how difficult it can be from being a counselor in a summer camp where I encountered some of the most difficult children in my life. It is easy to run away from problems like that, to give up on those children and convince yourself that they just can't be helped. That is why I found what this teacher did to be so amazing and inspiring, and I's glad you brought my attention to it.
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