Dead Poet's Society

Today I walked into my 7th grade Literature class as Emily Dickinson.

What a riot.

I don't have access to any outrageous 19th-century costumes, but I wore all white and took off all my jewelry. I even swept up my hair in a classic cover-the-ears bun (what my dad would call the "schoolmarm look").

I did not answer any of their greetings--a risky move considering the nature of this culture--and instead wrote "My name is Emily Dickinson" on the board and sat down in the front of the classroom. Just like that, nervous laughter started bubbling up from my students.

We've been studying a poem of Dickinson's for the past week, and yesterday I asked them to come up with questions to ask her if she were to suddenly appear in the classroom. When I gave them the assignment, I didn't even know I was going to dress up and pretend to be her. It just sort of happened. But in my limited teaching experience, it's the changes you make to the lesson plans you already prepared that get the best reactions.

So there I was, trying hard not laugh, feigning a weird accent so they would hear the difference between my own speech and this character's. I began to take questions from them, introducing myself to each student as if I'd never met them before.

It was really cool for about 30 minutes. Then one student started talking nonstop, and another complained that he was bored now. But for the most part, once they got over their initial disbelief ("Miss Thomas, you're really freaking me out, o!") they asked me all their questions and I had a grand time pretending to be my favorite poet.

When I exhausted their questions, I excused myself, went to the library, put on a scarf and all my jewelry, and returned to the classroom, where I pretended like I knew nothing of Emily's visit. I ignored all of their comments: "But it was you! You had the same clothes!"

I love days like today, when I can look into my students' eyes and see curiosity, discovery, and an interest in poetry. These days are rare, but when they happen, it reminds me that I do, in fact, love teaching Literature.