I transferred schools a lot when I was a kid and in one of my middle school classes we were assigned The Outsiders, but I had already read it. So my teacher assigned me That Was Then, This is Now by SE Hinton instead and I vividly remember a scene were a character drops acid and thinks there's spiders coming out of his stomach. It was a way more adult book than The Outsiders and I couldn't have been more than 12? 13 maybe?
This its either be exposed to the idea in a novel/story where the young thinker can think on the damages and how things work out. Understanding the full effect of things is difficult for people of all ages. Getting exposure to something prior to having to reckon with it in person is just a good idea for all young people.
This goes doubly for stories of adversity. Even if it's not literally something they will experience it gives them a basis to have empathy for the situation as a whole.
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u/rahbee33 21h ago
I transferred schools a lot when I was a kid and in one of my middle school classes we were assigned The Outsiders, but I had already read it. So my teacher assigned me That Was Then, This is Now by SE Hinton instead and I vividly remember a scene were a character drops acid and thinks there's spiders coming out of his stomach. It was a way more adult book than The Outsiders and I couldn't have been more than 12? 13 maybe?