TALES FROM THE CLASSROOM: Former Camden teacher on how she 'learned to duck'
Published: 17 May, 2012
by JULIE TOMLIN
The disruptive troublemaker Lindy Bellows, who has a “spear nail” she jabs at anyone who crosses her, is a character drawn from Miriam Halahmy’s teaching experience at a Somers Town school.
Lindy, who had a minor part in Halahmy’s previous novel for young adults, Hidden, now takes centre stage in Illegal, the second book in the trilogy.
On one level the novel is a fast-paced adventure story that tells how Lindy becomes caught up in a drug operation run by her cousin, Colin, and the lengths she goes to escape.
But eschewing the vampire or chick-lit plots that dominate the young adult fiction market, Halahmy also explores what the 14-year-old’s life is like at home: how her behaviour is affected by neglect, and her choices are influenced by the lack of a trustworthy adult to turn to.
A teacher for 25 years, Halahmy – who grew up in London but has paid frequent visits to Hayling Island, in Hampshire, where the novel is set – draws on her experiences working at Sir William Collins Secondary School during the 1980s (its name was changed to South Camden Community School in 1993).
“There’s always a reason behind their behaviour, although that of course doesn’t excuse it,” says Halahmy, who worked particularly with children with special needs and retained an “enormous respect” for the teaching profession.
“Certainly knowing the ‘something’ behind it can help you work with the child,” she says, adding that “learning to duck” was a vital skill she learnt working with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
“But the reality is that in a busy school, a big secondary school, kids act out and you don’t always have the time to find out why.”
At the Bellows’ home on Hayling Island, we discover a dysfunctional family grieving the loss of two-year-old Jemma. But Lindy’s parents were neglectful of their children long before their youngest daughter was found dead in her cot after the rapid onset of meningitis.
As they retreat further from their children, Lindy and her brothers Terrence and Sean are increasingly left to fend for themselves.
Blaming herself for the loss of her sister, and missing the support of her older brother Garth – he’s serving time – Lindy has started to self-harm.
Her teachers grapple with her aggressive behaviour while knowing little or nothing about her circumstances – or why reading a passage about death in Hamlet would cause her to hurl the book at the wall in rage.
That’s why it is important that there is someone like Joyce, who teaches Lindy First Aid at St John’s Ambulance.
“Joyce takes Lindy at face value and encourages her in ways that no one else has,” Halahmy explains.
“She doesn’t look at Lindy’s scowling face, her spear nail.
“She’s just someone in the community who can take whatever comes in – and she picks her up at the right time.”
In the end it is another outcast, Karl, who helps Lindy in her desperate bid to escape from the web her cousin has caught her in. A mute whose attitude is summed up in his T-shirt slogan – “The Rules Don’t Apply to Me” – Karl’s parents are wealthy but he is deeply affected by their neglect.
“My books reflect my work over many years with kids from difficult backgrounds who are having to overcome the odds,” says Halahmy, whose writing life began with poetry and protest songs inspired by Bob Dylan.
“I’ve written about some of the big, contentious issues of the day: drugs, dysfunctional families, self harm and mental illness.”
Having switched to the young adult market, she finds that adults still buy her books, both for “a shorter, quicker read” and because they deal with issues they can get their teeth into.
But it’s the strong characters who make you care about the issues, Halahmy insists.
“It’s not that I sit down and say ‘I’m going to write about this issue’. It’s how I see the world. These are the things that trigger me,” she says.
A lack of youth and community services is an issue that is affecting many young people today, says Halahmy, who believes the number of gangs could be cut by 50 per cent over night if youth services were increased and young people who have overcome difficult situations were brought in to help others.
“I know what can happen to kids who grow up in these backgrounds, especially if they don’t have strong role models at home,” says Halahmy.
“But I also wanted to say that you can do something about it.”
• Illegal. By Miriam Halahmy. Meadowside Children’s Books £6.99