Thursday, March 06, 2008


ONE YEAR WITH AN ENGLISH TEACHER

Day 110, Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Today I had a morning-long marathon class with the 9th graders before they left for England at noon. For me, it was a dream-come-true situation: three hours with good students and Shakespeare! It was wonderful to know that we had ample time stretching ahead of us -- time in which to loiter along the lines of poetry, probing for beauty and meaning. We took our sweet time, finally finishing the play just before lunch. The students were relatively attentive, especially considering that they must have been extremely keyed up about their trip. Most of them were following the words quite vigilantly, and I often called upon kids who are not usually in the vanguard during our Shakespeare conversations. Beatrice, in particular, seemed markedly focused as I read the lines. When I looked up to ask for an interpretation, I often saw her eager eyes staring right at me and her hand raised (though just barely, in her typically retiring manner). She must have spoken at least five times during the morning, a great triumph for her.

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