TRUE STORY AND ALMOST FUNNY

I Went to a Sixth-Grade Classroom

And I thought I was at a circus

Kateryna Hliznitsova
For Unsplash+

First, a small backstory. Last year, I published a young adult book about a fifteen-year-old girl who writes in her journal to help her dissect her anger. I had fun writing the book and had hoped it would be a fun way to engage with our children on a variety of challenging topics — anger, do-overs, comfort zones, mixed families, and the like.

Enter a favorite Rabbi and friend. She offers me the opportunity to give one of my favorite themes a test drive in her sixth-grade classroom. We work out the details. I will explore a theme I call “When your anger doesn’t know its home” and use the story of Noah’s Ark. We are in a synagogue after all.

Now the reality

I enter the classroom, and there are kids in every corner, giggling, rough-housing, and having fun. “Perfect,” I think. After all, it’s 4:00 on a Wednesday, and they’re tired and have had to be in school all day, and now they’re here. Let them get their energy out.

I get introduced. My Rabbi friend explains I’ve written a book. Immediately, one of the kids comes up to me and asks me to sign his name card on the table “right away.” I explain that I will do that later, but first, I want to explore an…