Teaching teens - in the age range of 14 to 16 - can be incredibly revealing; their perspective of the world, no matter how much I try to peel away the layers of security and outright ignorance, is very, very limited.
Take, for instance, the ongoing protests in Kiev. I asked today how many were following the news about this and I was rewarded with 32 blank faces, all staring at me as though I'd suddenly sprouted horns. If I instead had inquired about the latest dance craze, they would have talked over one another in their eagerness to share.
Sigh. I wish sometimes that I could live in such a cocoon.
I shared this with you because of my favorite books. I know - that's seems like a non sequitor, but it's not. I have my own form of escapism when I reach for tried and true friends such as the 'Betsy-Tacy' series or my dog-eared copy of "The Cottage at Bantry Bay", children's books that saw me through many a long day. I call them my 'feel good' books, and that's what they are: My own magic carpet away from ungraded essays or writer's block or whatever happens to be plaguing me at the moment.
Escapism can be a lifesaver, you know?
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