This is very good Elizabeth. The beginning sounds like something I read in the past. Did you publish an excerpt or something? Love the description of Noreen.
Well, let me tell you, like you, eighth grade was definitely the worst year of my life at that point. I was dealing with some major league bullying. Pushed too far and had to fight back. One time it involved me having to pull a knife and run him into a brick wall head first. The other two times involved me having to deliver punches in the mouth so hard it split lips and broke braces. (and then the sister of one of the bullies jumped on my back and tried to strangle me. Wish I was making this up.) Tough neighborhood huh?
This wasn’t me. I was the scared sensitive kid, but pushed past your limits it’s shocking what you’re capable of. I’ve never wanted to write about it. It’s still fairly painful to think about.
I can hardly believe that you wrote so poignantly about middle school kids. My absolute favorite age group aside from infants.
I was a juvenile PO for 35 years although I've been retired now for 5 years. Middle schoolers are such a juxtaposition. They are so worldly and adultlike in many ways, and so innocent and childlike in other ways.
If adults hate the unpredictability of 13 year olds they should know that the kids can't always predict their own behavior either.
You perfectly conveyed the drama, and trauma, of middle school.
I heard, or perhaps read, that you wrote a book about the Elan School. I need to read that. I certainly feel guilty about placing kids at other facilities that were later found to be just awful. It's hard to know when places are licensed or certified what's going on.
This is certain; you've made me very much miss work today.
Thank you, Nici! I did write a novel set in fictional schools similar to Elan. I definitely read up on Elan when I was researching, but the schools my book is based on are different ones. There are too many places like that! (One is too many.) I’ll admit I drew from life for a lot of the details here, though the end is a revenge fantasy haha.
This is very good Elizabeth. The beginning sounds like something I read in the past. Did you publish an excerpt or something? Love the description of Noreen.
Well, let me tell you, like you, eighth grade was definitely the worst year of my life at that point. I was dealing with some major league bullying. Pushed too far and had to fight back. One time it involved me having to pull a knife and run him into a brick wall head first. The other two times involved me having to deliver punches in the mouth so hard it split lips and broke braces. (and then the sister of one of the bullies jumped on my back and tried to strangle me. Wish I was making this up.) Tough neighborhood huh?
This wasn’t me. I was the scared sensitive kid, but pushed past your limits it’s shocking what you’re capable of. I’ve never wanted to write about it. It’s still fairly painful to think about.
Anyway, thanks for another good story.
Thank you, JunkMan! I do have some other ones similar to this so maybe you're remembering one of those? I also did publish this one a few years ago.
Yeah, it probably just came up on my feed from the past publication.
I can hardly believe that you wrote so poignantly about middle school kids. My absolute favorite age group aside from infants.
I was a juvenile PO for 35 years although I've been retired now for 5 years. Middle schoolers are such a juxtaposition. They are so worldly and adultlike in many ways, and so innocent and childlike in other ways.
If adults hate the unpredictability of 13 year olds they should know that the kids can't always predict their own behavior either.
You perfectly conveyed the drama, and trauma, of middle school.
I heard, or perhaps read, that you wrote a book about the Elan School. I need to read that. I certainly feel guilty about placing kids at other facilities that were later found to be just awful. It's hard to know when places are licensed or certified what's going on.
This is certain; you've made me very much miss work today.
Thank you, Nici! I did write a novel set in fictional schools similar to Elan. I definitely read up on Elan when I was researching, but the schools my book is based on are different ones. There are too many places like that! (One is too many.) I’ll admit I drew from life for a lot of the details here, though the end is a revenge fantasy haha.