The Children’s Secret by Nina Monroe

Author:Nina Monroe
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780751574869
Publisher: Little Brown, Book Group

Public Radio: New Hampshire FM

Close-Up

Reporter: Nature or nurture. The age-old debate. What really influences how our kids turn out? Is it how they’re parented? Where they grow up? Where they go to school? Or is it just down to genes? Is there nothing we can really do to affect what kind of people our children become?

This is the question that many of us are asking in the aftermath of the Playdate Shooting which took place on Sunday afternoon in Middlebrook. Today, we take a closer look at how different modes of parenting – and schooling – determine the behavioural outcome of pre-teens. I have with me the principal of Brook Middle School, Mrs Sophie Markham. Most of the children involved in the shooting attend Mrs Markham’s school. Good afternoon, Principal, and thank you for taking the time to talk to us.

Markham: Of course.

Reporter: I imagine you’ve seen the photograph – the one taken by that freelance reporter.

Markham: Yes. It’s an unfortunate picture.

Reporter: For those listeners who might not be aware, the picture of a young boy who, we suspect, attended the party at which the shooting took place, has become an internet sensation. The boy in question is sitting in a tree, fingers curled into the shape of a handgun.

Markham: Children like to play-act like this. It’s not unusual behaviour—

Reporter: Sure. But if he was one of the kids who was at the party on Saturday, he’s part of a criminal investigation: shouldn’t he know better than to be messing around – to be play-acting?

Markham: I don’t believe we know the identity of the boy in the picture.

Reporter: But still, a child his age would know what’s going on. It seems like a strange way to behave at this time, don’t you think?

Markham: Kids behave unpredictably. And they like to show off. Sometimes, they enjoy getting negative attention. I’m not sure the picture really tells us—

Reporter: Okay, okay. Let’s rewind a bit. Get some back story. There’s a substantial home-schooling community in New Hampshire – is that right?

Markham: Yes, but I don’t see how this is relevant—

Reporter: As the principal of a middle school, home-schooling is not a practice you would advocate, am I right?

Markham: It’s not the way I would go, no, but parents have a right to choose how they want to educate their children.

Reporter: Isn’t it often the difficult children who end up being home-schooled? Kids who wouldn’t fit in well at a normal school?

Markham: Not necessarily. There are many reasons—

Reporter: And it’s not just the home-schooling, is it?

Markham: I’m not sure what you’re asking.

Reporter: Some children come from difficult backgrounds. They witness violence at a young age.

Markham: Not every kid has an ideal childhood, no.

Reporter: And others are raised unconventionally. In the woods, for example . . .

Markham: Some parents have strong views on the environment: they like their children to experience nature. That’s no bad thing—

Reporter: Some of these children have parents who hunt for food – parents who have rifles in their homes.

Markham: Many people in our state do, especially up here in the north country.

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