I am starting to teach Shakespeare just a little today, and I wanted to record a conversation we had in class because it just cracks me up and makes me smile. So here it goes...
We had some time after our test so I told the kids to write down everything they knew about Shakespaere...then I went around the room and asked them to tell me one thing they wrote down....I got to "Amy"....here is the conversation (as well as I remember it, of course)....
Amy: He wrote How to Kill a Mockingbird....
(laughter from class, mainly me)
Me: No, Amy, he did not write TO Kill a Mockingbird, AND it's not an instruction manual..
(more laughter)
Sally: But I thought he did write How to Kill a Mockingbird. I think we read that in literature.
Me: Um, no, Sally. Harper Lee wrote TO Kill a Mockingbird. She is from Monroeville, Alabama.
Sally: But I could have sworn we talked about that in literature.
Molly: No, Sally, that was Edgar Allen Poe.
Sally: Oh, yeah! He's the one who wrote How to Kill a Mockingbird.
Me: No, Sally, he wrote "The Raven."
Sally: Well, I knew it was something like that...I got it all mixed up.
Me: Obviously.
Then later....
Suzie: He's the one who cut off his ear, isn't he?
Me: Um, no, Suzie.
Random student: That was Van Gogh, Suzie.
Jimmy: He's the one who killed himself after his girlfriend did.
Random student: That was Romeo and Juliet, Stupid.
Jimmy: Oh, yeah. I got them confused.
Suzie: Mrs. Gillilan, is he the one who wrote The Titanic?
(I laugh and write down what she said.)
Suzie: Um, am I wrong? Did he write it?
Me: No, Suzie.
Suzie: (excitedly and beating on her desk) Oh, I know, I know! He's the one that wrote about that Annabel Lee girl!
Me: No, Suzie. That was Edgar Allen Poe.
Suzie: Really? I was sure that time.
Stella: Did he come up with the American Express card?
(lots of laughter)
Me: No, Stella. He did not come up with the American Express card. (I start to write.)
Stella: Are you writing that down?
Me: Yes, Stella.
I am going to miss these kids desperately next year.
Originally written on April 6, 2010 *Names have been changed to protect the...um...well....ignorant :)
I am sharing this....this is hilarious! I will send it in a message to protect your anonymity...funny
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