Touched by a Child

A Principal's Story

Non-Fiction - Education
232 Pages
Reviewed on 03/18/2012
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Karen Pirnot for Readers' Favorite

"Touched by a Child" by retired principal George Towery is a delightful read for those in the educational system and also for parents who have ever wondered what goes on in their children's school while they are at work. Towery was a principal for 40 years, first at an elementary school which was located close to a reformatory by the interstate near Washington, D.C. Because of its location, the school was oftentimes called upon for unusual duties such as providing directions to lost travelers and whipping up an occasional lunch for travelers who had gotten off the beaten track. While at the school, Towery and his staff treated the students to schooling in animal husbandry in addition to the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic subjects.

When transferred to a more urban school setting, Towery had his work cut out for him. He had students from all over the world speaking different languages and bringing in cultural practices to which the entire staff learned to accommodate. Little by little, things improved. Towery talks about problems not unique to many similar schools such as having to provide food and clothing for students, having to deal with physical, emotional and sexual abuse, having to calm students whose parents were incarcerated, and having to care for homeless children.

As a reader, I might have liked to be provided fewer stories with more depth to the nature of the child's problems. But, as a whole the book is a good one to educate those who believe that school is only about teaching children traditional subjects. In Towery's school, there were ongoing life lessons as well.