Teens of disengagement
When I heard the explosion - yes, the whole school heard it - I had an instant premonition. That morning my gang of troublemakers, the three most disengaged kids in the class, had not shown up. Explosions didn't happen in this sleepy part of Suffolk.
My instinct was to race off to find out, but I had others in my charge. Only another teacher could understand the guilt I felt when I learnt of the tragedy. It was my duty to engage these boys and I had failed miserably. Two dead, one traumatised.
No-one blamed me. Well, that's not strictly true.
- Category: General / Misc
- Tags: Truant schoolboys. WW2 unexploded bomb in the estuary mud. Teacher's responsibility.
2 comments add one below
-
D.M. over 8 years ago
This reminds me of a short story by Eugene McNamara, " Falling into Place,"a young music student's suicide leaves behind an apprentice machinist who witnessed it, and the train driver who couldn't brake in time, as they try to bring their lives back to normal. I copy and pasted the summary above, but it also
includes the POV of the boyfriend, a bystander, and others. Beautifully written. -
Christopher over 8 years ago
Hindsight is always 20/20, as they say. Superb job, Neville.
