Friday, September 23, 2011

A Quick Story about Mrs. Gill’s Period 4 Class

by Carlye Chaney

            Once upon a time there was an English class at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School taught by Mrs. Gill. She was amazing and all her students loved her. On this day her class officially began reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller. However, class began with prayer, a Hail Mary and Glory Be, like every other day. Then there was some confusion over who would be doing scribe notes for that class. There were only three people that had not scribed yet, and two of those people would not be there the next day. Alphabetically, Lauren Corely, a bright young student, should have been the scribe; however it was decided that Carlye Chaney should have the job for the day. After this was sorted through, Will Dacus read his scribe notes from the previous day which were in story form. Abby Primo, an intelligent and lively student, was unhappy because she had not been mentioned in the scribe notes that day. After that, the students who would not be present the next day were told what the journal would be: Homecoming. Mrs. Gill then described how homecoming in the Midwest was “dull” compared to the “tacky” homecoming celebrations in West Texas where girls wear several giant corsages the day before. The class then started their daily journal entitled “McWedding” and listened to the song “White Wedding” by Billy Idol while they composed. When asked to read, Emily Melz told a story about a couple who had their first date, kiss, and proposal at McDonald’s. They also stopped there after the church service and had the reception catered by McDonald’s. Maddie Russell was not finished with her journal, but read anyway. She was hungry all through the wedding service and got a snack afterword. Kayla Swanson talked about a wedding where the catering company didn’t show up so they went to McDonald’s for the reception. Joe Siegel was denied the chance to read because he had already read so many times. Mrs. Gill then told the people who would miss school on Friday that they would need to write their reaction paper when Act I was finished, which would probably not be until Monday. The reaction paper would be centered on the characters by describing their behavior and overall personality. However those that would be absent did need to read another fifteen pages of The Crucible.  Mrs. Gill then talked about how the theme of a crucible will be central as they read; she explained by describing a “refining fire” that will change some people for the better and others for the worse. And with that finished, she handed out the books. The students opened the cover and began to read the book out loud. Frankie Frisch played the part of Reverend Paris, Kate Antor was Tituba, and Carlye Chaney was Abigail. Later on, Will Dacus was Mr. Putnam, Katy Mosley was Mercy, and Anne Donahue was Mrs. Putnam. We read about reverend Paris’ concern for his reputation as well as his daughter’s sickness. He was unhappy with his niece, even more so when the Putnams entered and talked about their daughter. Class ran out of time eighteen pages in, just before Abigail was about to have her dramatic scene. The books were shut and handed back in to Mrs. Gill as the students exited the classroom, full of new thoughts from their reading. 



The End

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