Posted by Michael New on September 05, 2007 at 01:33:16 from 65.32.178.7:
In Reply to: Re: Annual JFAS meeting posted by Yuletide Kid on September 04, 2007 at 09:01:04:
My wife thanks you for the sentiments with which she concurs. She, herself cannot be described as obediant. She always challenged principals and school boards. A staunch unionist, although she never had the chance to strike. Once established in a school district, she was admired and often feared by administrators, teachers and students. Students groaned if they had to repeat her class, but their parents loved it. Her influence was immense. Unfortunately, the assinine rules imposed by the Bush brothers (yes, we had his brother as governor) ruined her love of teaching.
She taught seniors, mainly, (18 year olds). Her course started with Boewulf and progressed through Chaucer to Shakespeare (all with appropriate instruction in the history of the times). She would usually show movies (Lion in Winter, A Man for all Seasons and Ladyhawke!). They then tackled the Restoration (Donne, Spenser etc) and Fielding and Wilding. Then her favorites: Keats, Shelley, Austin, The Brontes and Dickens (although she doesn't much care for him personally). When required to teach American literature she often disturbed good conservative southerners with books like: To Kill a Mocking Bird, Night, Something Wicked this way comes, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Color Purple. Once she got to teach a whole course on the Holocaust and got a survivor to address the class.
She reads mystery novels and anything to do with The Brontes. Mostly modern, mostly British; but she has read Conan Doyle. All this but she won't read Farnol; 'though she humours me by promising me that one day ......
Michael