Landmines and Children

Was the title of the English lesson in the second year middle schoolers (8th graders) book.

Yeeeeep.

The next three lessons are about the landmines in Cambodia and how children who go out ot play in the fields and forests get seriously injured or killed. It also shows a pciture of a little elementary school boy with only one leg going to school.

Vocab words include "landmine, kill, danger, injure, children/child, dangerous, and specialist" the grammar points taught are "use vs is used", "was cleaned vs cleansed" and "made vs was made by".

Now, maybe I just have a bad memory, but I have no recollection of any of my foreign language books in school ever having a chapter discussing how kids are being blown up by landmines.

And again, maybe its just me but....that title, "landmines and children", its ridiculous right? You have to laugh cause its so "wait what? for real" right?

Tell me if it's just me. Cause I definitely gave a little "for real?" laugh when my teacher pointed out the lesson we were going to do. And I think that definately offended her juuuust a bit.

She pointed out that the book talks alot about different international things as the topics of the english conversations, and I, trying to fill my grave back in as quickly as possible, totally agreed that i was great that the book was so culturally aware, and that it wasn't *funny* to me, as much as just *surprising* that a book for 8th graders would talk about landmines.

I don't think she bought it though. Chalk another up to a clash of cultures.