It was with dismay that I read Paul Muldoon’s reflection on his summer activity (President’s Page, Sept. 23). From his opening salvo directed at high school teachers — “If physics, or physical education, were taught at the pitch at which I fear poetry is taught in most high schools, there would be a public outcry” — to his closing death rattle — “If we at the tertiary level don’t take a more active, albeit indirect, role in secondary education, we soon won’t have any students fit to teach” — I thanked my stars that I had never helped Professor Muldoon fulfill his “duty” (his word) to the academic world.
Yes, I am a high school teacher, and yes, I do teach poetry, and yes, I am familiar with the work that follows on the college level (alumnae do share). One glorious memory, though, will suffice. Years ago, after listening to a stirring lecture by Princeton’s Victor Brombert, I introduced myself to the professor, identifying myself as a high school teacher. Before I could compliment him on his presentation, he insisted that the credit belonged to those of us in the trenches with the 14- to 18-year-olds, and that his work would not be possible without the work that preceded it. While Professor Brombert may have indulged in a bit of hyperbole, I greatly prefer his version to Professor Muldoon’s.
With Thanksgiving approaching, PAW asked Richardson to shed light on the historical relationship between America’s native people and European colonists by recommending three books on Indigenous literature and history
1 Response
Catherine S. Mattingly s*69 p’93
8 Years AgoHigh school teaching
It was with dismay that I read Paul Muldoon’s reflection on his summer activity (President’s Page, Sept. 23). From his opening salvo directed at high school teachers — “If physics, or physical education, were taught at the pitch at which I fear poetry is taught in most high schools, there would be a public outcry” — to his closing death rattle — “If we at the tertiary level don’t take a more active, albeit indirect, role in secondary education, we soon won’t have any students fit to teach” — I thanked my stars that I had never helped Professor Muldoon fulfill his “duty” (his word) to the academic world.
Yes, I am a high school teacher, and yes, I do teach poetry, and yes, I am familiar with the work that follows on the college level (alumnae do share). One glorious memory, though, will suffice. Years ago, after listening to a stirring lecture by Princeton’s Victor Brombert, I introduced myself to the professor, identifying myself as a high school teacher. Before I could compliment him on his presentation, he insisted that the credit belonged to those of us in the trenches with the 14- to 18-year-olds, and that his work would not be possible without the work that preceded it. While Professor Brombert may have indulged in a bit of hyperbole, I greatly prefer his version to Professor Muldoon’s.