This book was
published over 7 years ago and I had never heard of it until a former student
sent it to me as a gift. She had
highlighted several passages:
“Many students
admitted to fearing her; others were put off by her high standards”
“You’ll never know the
influence you’ve had on your students.”
“Most of her former
pupils could come forward and tell you how she changed their lives for the
better.”
“commanded respect and
engendered fear”
“no one cares more for
her students, no one demands more of them than you. And, no teacher I’ve ever known has asked
more of herself or given more of herself.”
The student, whom I
taught many years ago, wrote that those passages described how she thought of
me. She suggested I might enjoy the book
because she thought that as a teacher I was much like the protagonist.
The novel tells the
story of Amelia Irmelinda Madeira who begins teaching in the fall of 1917 in
Prospect, Missouri. Her career as an
English teacher and librarian continues until 1952. She is a gifted teacher who stands up to the
narrow-mindedness she encounters in the small town. Her comments against sexism, homophobia, and
bigotry make her an unconventional, somewhat controversial figure but her
reputation as a caring teacher wins over most people.
It is not just her teaching,
however, that is the focus. Though she separates
her professional and personal life and maintains a “stern façade” in the
classroom, her personal life is full of struggles and loneliness. Her father and brother make her life
difficult, and her life-long love is not openly reciprocated. Her happiness lies in sharing knowledge and
exposing her students to literature.
This book would
definitely appeal to teachers. It
highlights how the personal struggles of teachers are often unknown to students. At one point Miss Madeira tells a colleague, “Great
teaching requires great acting.” I used
to say the same to my students at the end of a semester by which time they had usually
realized there was more to me than a “stern façade.”
There’s a great
comparison of teaching and parenting: “good
teachers are like ideal parents. We give
children the skills to make better, informed choices. We try to instill a desire to expand their
horizons, to live a better life . . . hopefully an authentic one. And in the end, we prepare them to leave
us. That’s the one thing I can state
categorically. No matter what void we
fill or what bonds we form . . . they will all
leave us.” But my students laughed when
I spoke of their being my adopted children!
The literary quality
of this novel is not exceptional. There
are expository passages that go on and on:
“In the daylight, the view from overlooking Forest Park was spectacular,
the crest of the hill, twelve hundred and seventy two acres, nearly two square
miles, strewn with nine hundred distinct buildings; fifteen gargantuan
neo-classic palaces festooned with electric lights and covering a tenth of the
total acreage; towering colonnades reaching fifty-feet in the air, and massive
fountains; the wide expanse of the Plaza of St Louis; the Grand Basin, a giant manmade
lake dotted with gondolas; and a virtual sea of humanity. In all, twenty-two countries and forty-four
states had erected exhibition halls at a total cost of $45 million, an
expenditure of over fifty cents for every man, woman and child living in the
United States.”
Though I enjoyed the
book because I could certainly see myself in some aspects of Miss Madeira and
because the observations about teachers are accurate, I think the book requires
revision and editing.
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