Beali Lopez Series of Unfortunate Events & Miller

I chose Series of Unfortunate Events which I had not read before. In our group discussions I realized that everyone in my group had read Series of Unfortunate Events in elementary school. They were able to reflect on what they felt reading it as a child versus what they felt reading it as an adult which I though was interesting. Most f the people who had read the Series as a child and then again as an adult said it felt more cruel than they thought it was.  I found the series interesting although I have only read one of thirteen books. The book is about three children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. These children come from a wealthy, loving, and caring family but their perfect lives get turned upside down beginning with their parents’ death. After their parents die the children are placed with Arthur Poe who is a banker in charge of finding a home for the orphans. Mr. Poe finds the nearest relative, Count Olaf. Count Olaf turns out to be a horrible mad who mistreats the Baudelaire children and tries to seal their inherited fortune.  Once Count Olaf is removed from the role of in loco parentis things seem to be looking better for the children but in this story things can only go from bad to worse. The children are not allowed to stay in the care of Justice Strauss who is a loving women and a perfect fit for the children which takes the bit of hope the children had left after enduring Count Olaf’s torment. Instead the children will be sent off with the next closest relative. The oldest, Violet, is a very intelligent and independent engineer. The middle child, Klaus is a book worm and has a large vocabulary and the youngest, Sunny, is only a baby. Despite this we can see that Count Olaf disregards the children as stuck-up, snotty, bratty kids. Even Mr. Poe who is has known the children for years through their parents,sees the children as less intelligent than they really are.  Rather than talking to the children as the mature children they are he talks to them as though they are younger than they are and much less intelligent. This book reminds us that everyone is experiencing different things such as death. These children have a very unsecured home life not only did they lose their parents but they also lost all of their belongings. They are then placed in the care of an awful man. I want to make my classroom a loving and safe environment because we never truly know what someone is going through.

I found it interesting how Miller pointed out that any waiting time can be reading time. I never really thought about carrying a book with me anywhere other than school or the airport. I think that one challenge I will face as a teacher is helping my students find time to read not just for assignments but for personal entertainment.  I want to be able to expose my students to every genre so that they can discover the genres that interest them. When I was reading the different reasons for finishing a book when Miller writes about binge reading , I know I have definitely told myself all of t hose things at least once. I want my students to feel that way, even if they should sleep so that they are well rested for class. I am excited to inspire my students to read although I am afraid that not all of them will. I am afraid to discourage someone when my intentions are to help them, just as some of my teachers did to me.