{"id":391,"date":"2024-09-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=391"},"modified":"2024-09-17T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T10:00:00","slug":"my-message-to-students-and-teachers-by-rob-buyea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=391","title":{"rendered":"My Message to Students and Teachers by Rob Buyea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Students sometimes ask what the themes are in my book, to which I usually laugh and reply, \u201cThat sounds like a test question.\u201d Then, turning serious, I go on to explain that I don\u2019t think about themes when tackling a story. Rather, I find myself spending time with my characters, and wondering how they will grow and change to become somebody different in the end than they were in the beginning. I owe this to Richard Peck. He was the first person I heard describe stories in this way. Any messages or themes found in my books that resonate with my readers emerge naturally in the creating of it.<\/p>\n

That being said, as I reflect on the release of my tenth novel, Carter Avery\u2019s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year<\/em>, it\u2019s clear there are some commonalities throughout my books. For starters, I aim to write stories that carry a positive message. I want my readers to feel hopeful. Reviewers often use the word heart<\/em> when commenting on my work. You can expect a story that will make my readers not only laugh, but also stop and think and feel. When I was a teacher, I loved those moments when my students asked questions and wanted to talk about what was happening in our read-aloud. Opportunities for meaningful and important conversations around any number of topics is something else you\u2019ll find throughout my books. Carter Avery<\/em> is no exception.<\/p>\n

School is another common component in my stories, as are dynamic and passionate teachers. Teachers who implement projects and challenge students. Teachers who are fun and take time to get to know their students and believe in them.<\/p>\n

And speaking of students, my young characters are straight out of your classroom\u2014at least, that\u2019s what you tell me in your emails and during school visits. Pieces of them were in my classrooms, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

During this time of increased pressures and challenges facing our schools and educators, I felt compelled to write a story to remind us that teachers are people with lives, and so too are our students. There are times when that gets forgotten. And all too often it is the negative publicity about our schools that garners attention.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to find the negative in things, and in people. It doesn\u2019t take much for us to fire off a disgruntled email or to complain. But how often do we take the time to send a positive one\u2014just because?<\/p>\n

Choose Kindness is a mantra that hit schools with R. J. Palacio\u2019s incredible novel Wonder<\/em>, and it has stuck. I see banners and signs promoting this message all the time. It\u2019s a powerful idea. As a new school year kicks into gear, I encourage us to also Choose Positivity. During one of my favorite scenes in Carter Avery\u2019s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year<\/em>, Ms. Krane tells Carter, \u201cOur big rule this year is that we have to bring positive attitudes to our classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a new school year comes awesome possibility. The best teachers enter the classroom reenergized and eager to implement new and improved ideas, and eager to meet a new crop of students\u2014some who are equally excited, and others not so much. Regardless, all come with great potential. Sometimes all a person needs is a chance\u2014because, as Carter tells us, when your teacher believes in you, anything is possible.<\/p>\n

Choose Positivity. I wish everyone a great school year!<\/p>\n

Rob Buyea<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Teacher<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author of the Mr. Terupt series and Carter Avery\u2019s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year<\/em><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students sometimes ask what the themes are in my book, to which I usually laugh and reply, \u201cThat sounds like a test question.\u201d Then, turning serious, I go on to explain that I don\u2019t think about themes when tackling a story. Rather, I find myself spending time with my characters, and wondering how they will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}