From: robinsmith59 at comcast.net <robinsmith59>
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 13:52:12 -0500

The first question for M.E. Kerr that comes to my mind is how do you respond to young readers of Gentlehands who say that Trenker's crimes happened long ago, why bring up the past? My 8th graders are smart kids in a good school, but they are young; the history they know comes from books and school, and their personal experience is fairly circumscribed. I guess, in most occasions of their lives, it's a good trait to be forgiving. Some of my students -- not all, maybe not even a majority -- are taken in by Trenker's good looks and manners; they see him as a changed man and perhaps not culpable for what happened "so long ago." Gentlehands, along with other books we read together, serves as a superb early step in my students' examining of moral or ethical issues. The books, discussions, and activities are intended to get students thinking, but I've always wondered about this initial reaction of: "that was a long time ago, he's changed...."


Dean Schneider Ensworth School Nashville, TN 37205 schneiderd at ensworth.com
Received on Wed 12 Jun 2002 01:52:12 PM CDT