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Well, my anti-Poe-parent came in today. My department chair, principal, and I had to explain our rationale for teaching the story and review the materials selection process first. We took turns talking, and tried to be concise. I showed the nice folks all the objectives we addressed, and how we evaluated the theme of the story, and Poe's reasons for writing it. Good old critical thinking skills, right? We were greeted with a blank stare, followed by, "Well, I think it's trash. Who is this guy, anyway? I've never heard of him, and I have two masters' degrees."(This from the dad.) Sputtering, I tried hard to explain. I was nonplussed. I've never heard of an educated adult who didn't know Poe.I wanted to ask this guy where he got his degrees-Iraq, maybe? By correspondence course out of the back of a monster truck magazine? To be fair, he was otherwise a very nice, articulate man. I was puzzled. He explained that his daughter loved my class, and he had no problem with my teaching. It's the story he objects to, and he was required to meet with me first, before he could go higher up. I'm fairly confident that Poe is safe from him, but I'm still shocked. It was clear to me that he didn't understand the story, based on his objections. It was also clear that he didn't really care what I had to say. He's out to censor my curriculum. He's gonna be real unhappy when I do Shakespeare. It also turned out that the poor kid in question hasn't been having nightmares at all. She loved the story! It was her interest in it that made Dad take a look. I'm not sure why the nightmare dodge was necessary. I hope I don't turn up on the news! Recommended comic: Alias. Another fine Brian Bendis project, but for mature audiences. |
 
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Poe little me!