This piece of writing, could be summarized as being about the many deaths that occur at an elementary school. The many deaths that the school witnesses, are the deaths of trees in the school's nursery and the herb garden. Even the class pets met an unfortunate demise. Also, several of the student's parents had died and some of the students attending the school had died in freak accidents. Even the Korean child that the students were supporting through charity, had died from reasons unknown to the class.
One connection that I had to other course readings, was that this story reminded me of O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find". That is due to the fact, that both short stories reflected elements of death and melancholy. Just like the family in "A Good Man" met an unaviodable demise, these persons in "The School" seemed to die from something beyond their control.
One question that came to mind, was "what exactly was causing these people or things to die"?. Also, "was the association to the school was what factored into all these deaths occuring"?.
Lastly, one connection to my own life that I made was that it made me think of all the funerals that I have been to in my years of living. I have had to see both sets of grandparents being buried. So, this story made me reflect on all the different losses that I have endured in my life. If I was an child attending the school in the story, I would be devastated to have to endure through soo many deaths close to me.
I personally found this story, to be very unusual and odd. I have never read an story, like this before. However, I feel like death is an natural part of life and that is what the writer may be possibly trying to express. However, I noted that the students seemed very mature for their ages. This can be displayed, by the dialogue and actions that the students made.
I would like, to make some general comments about this short story. One comment, is that the teacher never seems to give the students an direct answer. When the children are questioning why has this or that died, the teacher simply does not attempt to give an feasible answer to the students. He appears to be letting the children, figure out the answer to the question by themselves. Lastly, it was mentioned how the children appeared to be frightened of the aspect of not knowing the answers to their wonderings. It was also noted, how children in current times seemed to learn through the TV and school, than they are actually having their parents talk to them and teach them about life. Also, the teacher named Edgar seems to maintain an passive tone throughout the story. When the deaths are occuring, the teacher does not appear to be worried or in the least, concerned. That is why, one must question if the teacher viewed death as simply being an cycle of life or not. The teacher seems to exhibit an sense of calmess that may not be seen in another. Also, it is important to know, that the fifth-graders in Edgar's class seem to want to understand the world around them, and to know if death is an natural process or not.
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