Living Hell

You'd never imagine a blog title like this from a fourth grade Christian school teacher, huh? Well, life is not so predictable in Room 104 at Vienna Christian School.
I started a new novel with my class today called Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume. Hilarious book, if you haven't read it. No further were we past making predictions about the book from the cover and title when I asked my class what their thoughts were about having siblings, since the book deals a lot with 2 brothers and their relationship.
Gabe, a boy with a U.S. passport but who has grown up his whole life in Austria, immediately stood up, growled (no joke) and said, "it's HELL, LIVING HELL."
As you can imagine, I was shocked, while the rest of my class howled with laughter. I never expected this to come from his mouth, but in retrospect it might give me an idea of the realities of some kids' households, whether public or private, U.S. or foreign.
It's easy for me to laugh now because my student growled and yelled, but the truth is that Gabe's story is probably common among kids all over the world. Kids need love. That's why we're here.