http://www.tomperrotta.net/ - Tom Perrotta's writing is very straight-forward and perfect during a hot bath or in bed after a long day. He tells a good story, often in school settings or about school-aged children and their neurotic morally-challenged parents. Prior to The Abstinence Teacher, I really enjoyed Joe College and Election (made into a movie with Reece Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick) , and to a lesser extent, Little Children (also a movie with Kate Winslet). The Abstinence Teacher is the story of Ruth, a high school sex ed. teacher and Tim, her daughter's soccer coach and a born again Christian. Ruth struggles to provide her students with the information she knows they need, within a curriculum that advocates abstinence as the only solution, while also trying as a single parent to take care of daughters who suddenly pronounce their interest in attending church. Tim, on the other hand, wants to give himself over completely to his church, knowing his tendencies to stray from a righteous path, but he finds the Church's moral absolutes difficult to swallow. In many ways this book was very frustrating -- knowing that there are people controlling certain curriculum in public schools who are simply blind about reality is incredibly scary. At the same time, I just don't want to believe that the religious segment portrayed in this book is really as ignorant, close-minded, and bullying as Perrotta portrays them. But, perhaps it's easy to think that living in a part of the country where that population simply doesn't seem to have a presence, or at least not a presence with any power. I did think Perrotta did a good job portraying the character of Tim and the twists and turns of his faith. Ruth, however, was a bit more one-dimensional - while facing somewhat of a communication crisis with her two children, she doesn't seem to do much to try and connect with them. She wallows in a little too much self-pity and while she has strong beliefs about education, she never seems able to articulate those positions to anyone who matters. I found her inability to stand up for herself and for the students she is in a position to protect very disappointing. Overall, however, Perrotta's novel raises very important issues about the nature of public school education, the separation (or lack thereof) of church and state, and how we pass along "proper" morals to our children.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta
http://www.tomperrotta.net/ - Tom Perrotta's writing is very straight-forward and perfect during a hot bath or in bed after a long day. He tells a good story, often in school settings or about school-aged children and their neurotic morally-challenged parents. Prior to The Abstinence Teacher, I really enjoyed Joe College and Election (made into a movie with Reece Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick) , and to a lesser extent, Little Children (also a movie with Kate Winslet). The Abstinence Teacher is the story of Ruth, a high school sex ed. teacher and Tim, her daughter's soccer coach and a born again Christian. Ruth struggles to provide her students with the information she knows they need, within a curriculum that advocates abstinence as the only solution, while also trying as a single parent to take care of daughters who suddenly pronounce their interest in attending church. Tim, on the other hand, wants to give himself over completely to his church, knowing his tendencies to stray from a righteous path, but he finds the Church's moral absolutes difficult to swallow. In many ways this book was very frustrating -- knowing that there are people controlling certain curriculum in public schools who are simply blind about reality is incredibly scary. At the same time, I just don't want to believe that the religious segment portrayed in this book is really as ignorant, close-minded, and bullying as Perrotta portrays them. But, perhaps it's easy to think that living in a part of the country where that population simply doesn't seem to have a presence, or at least not a presence with any power. I did think Perrotta did a good job portraying the character of Tim and the twists and turns of his faith. Ruth, however, was a bit more one-dimensional - while facing somewhat of a communication crisis with her two children, she doesn't seem to do much to try and connect with them. She wallows in a little too much self-pity and while she has strong beliefs about education, she never seems able to articulate those positions to anyone who matters. I found her inability to stand up for herself and for the students she is in a position to protect very disappointing. Overall, however, Perrotta's novel raises very important issues about the nature of public school education, the separation (or lack thereof) of church and state, and how we pass along "proper" morals to our children.
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1 comment:
This one appeals to me too. Teaching human development and puberty was my favorite. And it's amazing, they push these curriculums later and later into the academic careers of students. Unbelievable. It was so valuable for the sixth graders to know what the heck was going on with their bodies and in some schools they are giving these lessons way too late, or not at all!
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