A Teacher Shall Lead the Way

Writing is, and should be, its own reward. The need for constructive criticism creates thick skin for a writer, though invariably there is no intention of assistance by readers. Certainly most professional reviewers are serving their own agendas. In my case, I have exposed a part of my life to the scrutiny of anyone so inclined to judge me. Sometimes its tough to be a writer.

But then, just when you need it, a brilliant spear of sunlight breaks through the clouds and gives you what you need. In my case, a fan gave me the single greatest compliment I have ever received. For those who adore education like myself, you may find this refreshing.

"I am currently teaching 12th grade English in a suburb of Allentown, PA. It's a challenge to keep them interested in any way, so I find that being able to tell them stories helps keep them listening... even if they're only semi-related to the curriculum. We just got done reading Hamlet (which is why it was so cool to be reading your book at the same time).

Aside from the obvious humor and intrigue of your stories, I have to tell you, it has been a valuable tool in my classroom. One of my goals is to teach my students that what we're learning in the classroom is actually relevant in the real world because they insist that 'nobody actually uses vocab words' and 'Shakespeare has no use in the real world.' Therefore, I always encourage them to look for and share examples of what we're discussing. It seems like every day I have been going into class saying 'I found one!!' And then I would share with them the vocab word you used in the chapter I had just read, or yet *another* Hamlet reference you had made in your book. So I guess I just wanted to say it's really nice to see a 'non-school book' that shows me and my students just how relevant our boring lessons can be."

Now, when I was younger I had a tremendous internal debate about whether I wanted to be a teacher or a writer. My college degree is in Art History, after all. In the end my lust for adventure won out and I chose the latter, also figuring that I could teach through writing. I have always believed that we need to raise the bar, and that even regular, pop entertainment need not be dummed down to the point of oblivion. Once a friend gave me a general reading schoolbook for twelve year-olds, from 1924. The level of erudition was so high I could not read it comfortably. Teacher Sandy Utsch of Pennsylvania, this blog goes out to you.