How did I end up here?

(The above picture is not a current class nor does it reflect my class sizes. I have five classes of 27 - 33 students and one lone class of 14.) The students in this class were part of a 27 member class and my first American Lit. class.


I'm an English teacher whose first trip with "the classics" included Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. I took that trip to "brown nose" an English teacher whom one of my older brothers had antagonized (ahem D.?!. She gave extra credit for the "huge" books and her eyes said she bestowed "goodness and mercy" to those brave enough to venture into the land of "the classics." Mrs. K. must have loved Brit Lit because I can't recall one classic by an American author. Well, I got bitten by the Brit Lit bug and have been a fan ever since that fateful year. I've expanded into current Irish authors---love the dry wit--but American Lit? Not a big fan. So how in the world did I end up teaching it? Two words---budget cuts. Tomorrow: Edgar Allen Poe's "Annabelle Lee." Anything by Poe makes me shudder. But how do you teach that time period and not teach Poe? Try getting kids enthusiastic about James Fennmore Cooper----I cop out and show Hollywood's concept with The Last of the Mohicans. The juniors in general English aren't planning on college, so any justification of "for college" doesn't work. I am a bit forlorn. How did I end up here?