The Twilight Movie

This blog entry should be attributed to the girls in my class. They are all rabid Twilight fans, and have been after me for months about the fact that I had not yet seen the movie. This, in their eyes, has a very negative impact on my coolness rating as a teacher. Well, I took some time last night to sit down and watch the video on my computer (with headphones). I wasn't too sure if the movie would be appropriate for Bailee since it was rated PG - 13. As it turned out, it wasn't.

So, I was able to tell my girls that I have finally watched the movie. Hopefully this will now salvage my "coolness," but I don't think my response to the movie was quite what they expected.

I liked the movie, but not as much as the book. Sorry Hollywood - but you NEVER do the books justice. You never could.

To me, the main message of the book is that you can always choose to overcome what life hands you - no matter how horrible that may be. People have the ability to change themselves and control their behavior. That is WAY too psychological for my little eleven-year-olds. They are probably more interested in which boy I thought was cuter. As far as going into the realms of the Edward vs. Jacob thing - forget it! I will not go there. (Besides, I've read all the books, so I know how futile that is.)

The girls interest in Twilight has always been a source of curiosity for me. The books are written for the teen market, and they aren't age appropriate for 5th grade girls. The emotions and events in the books are simply too intense and too mature for them to understand. I think they mainly read them because their mothers and older sisters are so excited about them. The one thing that seems to apply to all eleven-year-olds is that they want to be older. All they can see is the prospect of being a teenager on the horizon, so they try to eradicate the "tween" years separating them from that goal. It's a shame really. I wish they could appreciate just how special and unique those "tween" years can be.

For this reason, I'm looking forward to seeing the segment on channel eight tonight - "Too Sexy, Too Soon." This is something I see every day. Our girls DO want to grow up too fast, and I really think that we, as parents, need to step in and step on the brakes. So ... Bailee won't be reading any of the Twilight books any time soon. Nor will she be watching the movie (too intense by far in my opinion). Those teen years will be here soon enough. I'm enjoying the joys of a ten-year-old too much to throw that part of her life away. Childhood is too fleeting and too precious NOT to savor and appreciate every stage while it lasts.