We don’t know the reason why there were lots of deaths of our school. The trees our children planted died. The herb gardens also died. The gerbils, the white mice, and the salamander died. The tropical fish were twisted and floating on the surface of the water. The puppy, which a student helped it and brought to the classroom also died. We don’t know why it died, maybe distemper. Its name was Edger, yes, my name. Children named it after me and made lots of fun calling it. I didn’t mind and I enjoyed that.
The Korean boy who was adopted through the Help the Children Program died. We don’t know the cause of his death.

The children’s parents died: two heart attacks, two suicides, one drowning, four car accident, and one was killed in a struggle with an intruder. Of course, their grandparents also died more than ordinary rate I think.

Yes, our students, Matthew and Tony died when they were playing over where they’re excavating for the new federal office building.
Maybe the school is something wrong, but I can’t see where is wrong, I don’t see anything wrong with our school. Just a run of bad luck, I guess.

The children and I were depressed. We discussed deaths.
The children asked me to make love with Helen, who is our teaching assistant, in front of them. I refused, but I kissed her on the brow and we held each other.


263ページの「they said, but isn't death, considered as a fundemental........direction of-」
というところが、いまひとつ、理解できｍせんでした。
そして、その後に、いきなり、make loveを見せてくれと頼むって？

The tragedy happened in the school.
The children planted orange trees for the education so that they could see how they grew, and learn the sense of responsibility and taking care of the things. But all the trees died. Then, all the bets we had died in order. I don' know why all the things around us passed away like snakes, gerbils and salamanders. I was not surprised when the tropical fish crooked and died.
One day, one of the student brought the puppy to school. The children named Edgar, that is my name. They made fun of it but I didn't mind being kidded. I knew what was going to happen with puppy. I gave dead puppy to janitor before the children came to school in the morning.
And then, Korean orphan adopted in the class through the Help the Children program died. We don't know the cause of death. It was a just bad luck, I think, although some of kids' parents and grandparents, Matthew and Tony died for certain reasons.
We had discussed it in the class. I couldn't answer where those people and animals had gone.
Incidentally, the children asked to make love to Helen, our teaching assistant. I refused of course, but they appealed they have never seen it. We held each other. The children were excited.
Life goes as if nothing has happened. The meaning of death does not give anything to life but life itself gives meaning to life.

こんなにたくさんの不幸が起こる学校、通いたくないし、子どもにも通わせたくないですよね（笑）。

私が「a run of bad luck」と本文からそのまま使ってしまったのに、middle-angelさんは「a chain of bad luck」と言い換えられてて、ハッとしました。手抜きせずに、言い換えよう！

どこまでまとめたものかと、両親の死に方、全部書いてしまったのに、お二人ともすっきりとまとめられていて、要約というものは、どの程度まとめたらいいものか、考えてしまいました。

私もぱんぷきんさんも、最後に　gerbil　が教室に迷い込んできたことは書きませんでしたが、middle-angelさんはそれを書かれ、それがこれからの吉兆なのか、また悪運が続くと予想されるのか、疑問を投げかけられていて、ラストは読者の気持ちしだいなのかなと思いました。
実は、「あ、またこの　gerbil　も死んでしまうんだ」と私は思ってしまいました。

ぱんぷきんさんも、私と同様、生徒たちが　make loveを見せてくれと頼んだのは、唐突と思われたみたいですが、middle-agelさんは　死というものを考えた上での必然的な子どもたちの要求のように書かれてて、そうかもしれないと思いました。
そのあたりのところが、今一、理解できなかったです。

生徒たちの死もはっきりとは書かれず、「あ、そうか、死んだんだ」と二、三回読んでわかるような表現の仕方の作品で今回は難しかったです。