Elinor Burkett "infiltrated" a high school the size of Columbine, looking for reasons why it might have happened. The kids jump off the page.
The most impressive thing about ANOTHER PLANET is Prior Lake High School's willingness to air its dirty laundry. I was a teacher for twenty years, and, believe me, there are very few administrators like Dr. Olson.
The set-up is this: Journalist Elinor Burkett was to be given almost unlimited access to students, teachers, administrators and parents for an entire year. She was looking for a suburban school about the size of Columbine and Prior Lake fit the bill.
I have to say that I enjoyed the book, especially the kids. Burkett includes a "Cast of Characters" within the first few pages. The inside covers are also used as a photo gallery. I kept paging back to find whomever she was talking about at a given time. Another remarkable fact: she used real names, had everybody sign a release before she'd talk to them.
Many of the kids fit specific "types" we've all met when we were in high school: Tony Lorenz, the cocky co-captain of the football team; Ashlee Altenbach, the pot-smoking ADHD student; Marissa Clausen, Goth princess; and my favorite, Reilly Liebhard, school genius.
The teachers are "types" are well: There's Joe Goracke, from "the old school"; Lori Boynton, assistant principal and resident hardass, and Mary Haugen, director of activities and athletics, who insists on calling sports co-curricular activities. The most compelling are the newbies, Mike Carr, first-year social studies and Mara Corey, first-year English. Burkett follows them around unrelentingly, exposing their every foible. Corey loses her job, mainly because she runs afoul of the less-liberal element in her department.
Lots of issues are analyzed here.The cluelessness of the faculty for one thing. They think the dates written on the bathroom walls signify another Columbine-like event, when in really they advertize a national pot-smoking day. Even the NHS students show up for it, as does Burkett. She also hits the "self esteem" fad hard. Teachers are not allowed to say anything negative about students, lest they damage their fragile egos. Burkett blames this for the mind set that led to Columbine.
I have to say that when I first read the book I thought Burkett had an ax to grind (She does admit at one point that high school was not a good time for her), but I must admit she got most of it right. There's the popularity contest going on, among the teachers, there's the petty bickering and back stabbing in the lounge, there's the problem with discipline (everyone else has one, but not me) and there're the sweet, lovely parents who won't stand up for the teachers. Bring on the computer classrooms!
Dave Schwinghammer's Fargo-esque mystery, Soldier's Gap, is available on Authorsden and at Amazon.com, new and used. Please check the reviews. Thank you. Click here to post or read comments.
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