Wading In

Column originally published 9-14-06 Sept. 11 sparks talk By Kelvin Wade Monday's article in the Daily Republic about teaching youngsters about Sept. 11 struck a chord with me. It appears the Fairfield-Suisun School District is all over the map in what teachers teach about that fateful day. It's hard to know what to say to very young children. I recently had a discussion about Sept. 11 with my girlfriend's 9-year-old granddaughter, Lauryn. We were watching "Splash" (because she's going through a mermaid phase) when a shot of the twin towers filled the screen and I gasped. Lauryn asked me what was wrong and I told, "It's just . . . the twin towers. The World Trade Center." She stared at me blankly and I knew at that moment she knew nothing about Sept. 11, 2001. I went over the events and she listened, fascinated. I was kind of surprised that her face didn't betray any fear or anxiety. She was matter-of-fact as she took it in. "Who...

I walk Lauryn to the bus stop in the morning. There are about a dozen kids who get on at her stop. And there's this one kid with a buzz cut, looks like he may be Hispanic and black. He's a...what's the word I'm looking for? He's a prick. He's constantly bugging the other kids. Stepping on their feet, making jokes about their mothers, screaming, running into the street, hitting people and outrunning them, hitting them with long weeds he pulls out of a neighboring yard... just a smart aleck punk. There's also this big black 6th grade girl at the stop. I mean, she's big for her age. She looks like she should be in the 8th grade. Well, yesterday, I looked away for a moment and heard a THUD. I saw Lauryn's eyes grow wide. "She hit him!" Lauryn said. I looked and saw the little punk nursing his arm. The big 6th grade girl punched him. Inside, I did a little jig. It settled him down the rest of the morning. Now I don't condone violence. I don...