Thursday, April 21, 2011

Beth's Book Corner: Should You See the Movie? Or Read the Book?

It seems that these days most of the movies you see in the theaters are originally based on a currently popular novel or book series. I'm an avid reader, and am quite often disappointed when a Hollywood ruins one of my favorite stories. Yet, there are some surprises sometimes when a film can actually be better than the book-form.

Since books are typically better than their movie counter-parts, I always make it a point to read a book before seeing the film version. Typically it's worth it, but not always. Here are a few suggestions that should help direct you towards either the book store, or the video store.

My Sister's Keeper

The Verdict: The book.

Recommended for: Ages 15+

Plot Summary: A thirteen year old girl, genetically created to be a life-saving donor for her older sister with Leukemia, sues her parents for the rights to her own body. This rips the family apart and puts her sister's life at risk.

Why? I have never been more outraged by changes made to a book for the big screen than I have for this movie. I was actually fuming and cringing in my theater seat while watching the film version of this Jodi Picoult novel. The changes made in the storyline actually ruined the heart and soul of what made the book shine.

The Last Song

The Verdict: The movie.

Recommended for: Ages 13+

Plot Summary: Troubled teen Ronnie is forced to spend the summer at the beach with her estranged father.

Why? This is a typical Nicholas Spark story. if you've read any of his books or seen any of their film counteparts, the plot will be very predictable. Both the book and the movie are entertaining and emotional, however the book doesn't offer anything additional that the movie can't provide. Actually, rent the film "Life As A House" for a nearly-identical story that is told with ten times the emotion and passion than this bit of Sparks fluff.

Bridge To Terabithia

The Verdict: Both!

Recommended for: Ages 10+

Plot Summary: The very sullen Jesse Aarons makes friends with the new girl in town, Leslie Burke. Leslie opens his eyes to a world of imagination he never thought possible.

Why? The book does a great job at sparking the imagination of the reader. The movie does a brilliant job at portraying the growth of Jesse's imagination. The book and film complement each other very well.

Tuck Everlasting

The verdict: The movie

Recommended for: Ages 10+

Plot Summary: Long before Bella Swan longed for the immortal life of a vampire to spend eternity with the love of her life, Winnie Foster was in the same predicament. Bored with her life, Winnie befriends a family of immortals in the woods behind her house. She falls in love with their son Jesse Tuck, and is forced to make a life-changing decision.

Why? The book is cute, but the movie injects a lot more emotion and depth to this sweet story. You're taken on a journey with young Winnie and learn a lot of life lessions from the Tuck Family. Featuring an all-star cast and a haunting soundtrack, this Disney film will most definitely touch your heart.

The Secret Life Of Bees

The Verdict: The book

Recommended for: Ages 13+

Plot Summary: Lily Owens struggles to learn the truth of her Mother's death. She runs away from home with her African-American nanny, and faces the harsh realities of inequality in the South in the 1950s. The two of them are taken in by an eclectic family of beekeeping sisters who teach and inspire them.

Why? Author Sue Monk Kidd has a magical way with words that make this book impossible to put down. I was sucked in from the first paragraph, and was taken on an emotional journey with Lily and Rosaleen. While the movie is great at re-telling the story, and still highly recommended, some of the enchanting spark is lost from the richness of the text.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The Verdict: For kids? The book. For adults? The movie.

Recommended for: Everyone. See above.

The Plot: Sixth grader Greg documents the trials and tribulations of sixth grade in his comic-book style journal.

Why? These books are written in such a fun and non-intimidating manner, even the most reluctant pre-teen reader will enjoy reading them. Adults could easily dismiss the movie as a "dumb kids flick" but will most likely be drawn in as well. The movie had me cracking up for two hours straight, and I was pleasantly surprised.

What's next?

I just finished reading Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants in preparation for this weekend's movie release. I was enchanted by this circus love-story and hope the film does the book some justice. I'm not typically a Robert Pattinson fan, so I hope to be convinced otherwise. On the other hand, Reese Witherspoon rarely disappoints.

Also, I eagerly await next year's release of the film version of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games. News on the casting is being released at a quick pace right now, so it's fascinating to see whom is hired for these delicate roles. I'm thrilled that Bridge To Terabithia's Josh Hutcherson has been chosen to play the bread-making Peeta. The Last Song's Liam Helmsworth seems like an odd choice for Gale, but I'm willing to be open-minded and have some faith in the casting directors. I still have my fingers crossed that we'll see Kristin Chenoweth as the exuberant Effie Trinket!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

We Were Featured in the Newspaper!

After tutor’s arrest in Brockton, what are schools doing to keep kids safe?

By Amy Littlefield

Enterprise Staff Writer

Posted Apr 03, 2011 @ 06:00 AM

BROCKTON —

Stoughton public schools installed windows in counseling room doors. The Bridgewater-Raynham district puts two adults in the room with children during after-school programs.

One Taunton tutoring business keeps its cameras on and classroom doors open when adults are helping kids with their schoolwork.

Protecting children from sexual predators in educational settings came under the spotlight recently after the arrest of a Stonehill College student on accusations that he raped an 8-year-old girl he was tutoring in her Brockton classroom.

Local educators say they work hard to prevent children in their care from being sexually molested by adults. They do criminal background checks. They train staff to detect signs of potential abuse. They limit one-to-one contact with children.

But studies show and experts say, it’s not easy protecting children from child molesters.

These predators often operate under the radar – with clean criminal records, an engaging personality and a way of frightening their victims into silence.

“Pedophiles, as a rule, are charmers who know how to ingratiate themselves to people and they seek out opportunities in youth-serving organizations because that’s where children are,” said Stoughton resident and advocate Susan Komisar Hausman.

She runs a training on child sexual abuse for the organization “Darkness to Light” and has authored a children’s book on abuse.

In fact, a 2007 Associated Press investigation showed that school districts across the country unwittingly place children in classrooms with potential sex offenders every day.

“From my own experience – this could get me in trouble – I think every single school district in the nation has at least one perpetrator. At least one,” Mary Jo McGrath, a California lawyer who has spent 30 years investigating abuse and misconduct in schools, told The Associated Press at the time.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s urban or rural or suburban,” she said.

The AP investigation found 2,570 educators nationwide whose teaching credentials had been “revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned” between 2001 and 2005 because of sexual misconduct accusations. At least 1,801 cases involved young victims, and more than 80 percent of those were students, reporters found.
Most disturbingly, the report revealed some school districts recycled teachers accused of abusing students, firing and hiring them quietly in the same way churches once handled priests accused of similar behavior.
“Beyond the horror of individual crimes, the larger shame is that the institutions that govern education have only sporadically addressed a problem that’s been apparent for years,” reporters wrote in the 2007 article.
Schools beef up training

Some local school districts say they are implementing strict policies and training staff to protect students.
“A lot of adults don’t necessarily know how to identify some of the signs that might indicate that a child has been abused,” said Stoughton Superintendent Marguerite Rizzi.

So, Rizzi said, Stoughton has hosted training on sexual abuse for counselors, nurses and some teachers.
“I wanted to heighten their awareness, so that if they saw certain behavior, or kids said certain things to them, they would feel more prepared to respond,” said Rizzi.

Bridgewater-Raynham and Brockton also do some training on the issue, according to officials there.
“Awareness is the best way we can start to help children,” said Donna Paolini, director of administration, curriculum and grants for Bridgewater-Raynham schools.

But beyond awareness, schools also need strict policies to protect children, according to Hausman.

“They key is, once you hire people, you have to always have in place policies that make abuse less likely, no matter who they are,” she said.

Bridgewater-Raynham, which hires 15 college students for after-school and before-school programs, requires two adults to be in the room at all times, said Superintendent Jacqueline Forbes.

At Learning Magic in Taunton, a private tutoring service, protections include cameras and classroom doors that are always left open, said owner and founder MaryEllen Yeo. Tutors sit across the table from students, not next to them, and everyone is carefully watched.

“There’s always supervision here, constant supervision,” said Yeo. “There’s always at least one staff person who’s not tutoring walking around, checking everything.”

Supervision can also protect staff who fear false accusations of abuse. In Stoughton, for example, guidance counselors came up with a way to monitor private meetings.

“We retrofitted the guidance suite with glass panes in the doors so that they could have a private conversation and still be protected from the possibility of any accusations,” said Rizzi.
The move resulted from training by Hausman on the topic of abuse, Rizzi noted.
brockton makes changes

In Brockton, Stonehill College student and math tutor Kevin Treseler, 21, was arrested in late March and charged with raping an 8-year-old girl in a city classroom.

Superintendent Matthew Malone has said the School Department failed to conduct background checks on Treseler and a “handful” of other Stonehill tutors.

Treseler had been arrested on charges of marijuana possession and possession with intent to distribute, but Malone said he might have been hired anyway, because the charges were later dismissed after a period of probation and community service.

Brockton has a policy that prohibits tutors from being alone with students, according to Malone. But a police report suggests that the alleged abuse at the Angelo Elementary School may have occurred while a teacher was present.

After the arrest of Treseler, who pleaded innocent and is out on bail, Malone said he implemented a new policy to ensure background checks are always done and reminded his staff of the need to monitor tutors.
But in the end, Hausman said, adults are responsible for keeping children safe from abuse. And that duty means being able to face some pretty startling realities.

Among those, she said, is that in more than 90 percent of cases, the child knows and trusts his or her abuser.
Amy Littlefield can be reached at alittlef@enterprisenews.com.

Brooke Mercure, 9, of Lakeville works with tutor MaryEllen Yeo at Learning Magic in Taunton.

Tutor Dave Radzik, left, works on algebra with Jorge Arce, 15, Taunton, at Learning Magic in Taunton.

Photos:

Marc Vasconcellos/The Enterprise