Brian
Brian is a seven year old first grader and a budding entomologist. Tall for his age, he patrols the playground and is alert to other students doing anything mean to insects. One afternoon his teacher reads Charlotte’s Web to the class. As she talks about Charlotte the spider, a rather loud voice interrupts saying, “Actually, that would not be part of an arachnid’s diet.”
The mood shatters. The reaction from his classmates is swift, “You ruin everything.” “You’re so weird.” His exasperated teacher explains that this is a pretend story. It doesn’t have to be like real life. In one way or another, on and off for two weeks, he is punished for his outburst.