Book Reports = IT

Every quarter without fail, at least two or three of my students will write their book report about Dave Pelzer's book, A Child Called It. Most teachers wouldn't mind reading about his book, but I simply can not. I used to have his books in my "to read" stack, but I couldn't bring myself to read them. I gave them away.

I think that anytime a survivor of childhood abuse writes about their abuse and exposes their abusers, it is a positive step in their healing, but I can't bear to read about the details. I know first hand that abuse hurts and that it damages the soul and the body. I   don't need to read the details of the abuse of another person to know this.

That being said, I wouldn't want anyone to think that these types of books should not be published. There is tremendous value in abuse memoirs. Books like Pelzer's help educate the public to be more aware of the possibility of abuse. He helps us help children who do not have a voice.

As a teacher, I don't tell my students they can't do reports on Pelzer's books, but I can't read those reports. I asked my husband if he wanted to grade them for me, but he declined, so instead I grade based on the first paragraph and call it done. Maybe next year, I'll ask my students not to write about Pelzer's books - or maybe I won't say a word. I don't want to discourage them from reading his work.