Okay. It's still crap. I basically know where it's going, but the first two pages are rather trite and boring. Things will happen, I promise, but I wanted to prove that I'm moving forward (slowly). I had some great ideas for what's going to happen later in the story. I'm still hoping to get this draft finished by Friday. We'll see how that goes--I might have to push it back until Sunday.

Plot: 8th grade English teacher evaluates student’s short fantasy story

Theme: the atrophy of creativity

Voice: Claire, the mother; excerpt from the teacher Dr. Tanenbaum's book based on the daughter Kendrick's short story titled, "The Pink Sweater."

Speaking of crap...

When it was their turn, Claire walked into the room with her daughter and wrinkled her nose. It smelled of generations of sweaty boys and pounded chalk. There was something depressing about classrooms. Claire had spent the first quarter of her life haunting their small desks and dreaming of escaping the narrow-nosed gaze of their teachers. She shook her head to clear it of smelly rooms and neglected opportunities.

Dr. Tanenbaum sat behind a large, wooden desk, her back not touching the chair. “We’ll get started in a moment, Mrs. Lee,” she said as she rifled through papers.

Claire examined Dr. Tanenbaum. She was just as the other teachers had described her: tall, lanky, pathetic. Claire knew plenty of women like her. She had almost not bothered researching her, but Claire knew better than to take chances on Kendrick’s future. Dr. Tanenbaum did not have any friends in school. She was awkward outside the comfort of her classroom. Claire’s strategy was simple: befriend Dr. Tanenbaum by showing interest in her. “Call me Claire, Dr. Tanenbaum.”

“Of course, Claire. That’s very nice of you.” Dr. Tanenbaum’s eyeballs were unfocused and drifting. She stared in the direction of Claire with a half smile. Her expression reminded Claire of carefully suppressed emotions, the kind that steamed for so long that they reached an emotional steady state with the outward pressure and the inward emotional gravity canceling out perfectly. Claire was sure that Dr. Tanenbaum was the type of teacher that tried to quiet her students at the start of class with calm words and remonstrations, only to end up yelling and stamping her foot to achieve some semblance of order.

“First, let me begin with an explanation of this class. Many parents are concerned about what their children are learning here. I don’t blame them, mind you. It’s nontraditional, based on an idea I had while in school. While finishing my teaching degree, we did an exercise where the professor asked what was the first thing that interested us in our study area. It was a great question. I had never thought about it before, but I quickly came up with the legends and fantasy stories I read as a child. The professor then asked us to develop a lesson plan based on the answer to that question. That’s when I came up with ‘Fairies, Dragons, and Wizards.’

“After I graduated, the principal I proposed it too liked the idea, but wanted to limit it to fantasy in contemporary fiction, reasoning that that would fulfill the eighth grade reading requirement. We teach the class in their last year. We offer the students a choice of English electives, and this is one of them. Kendrick, why did you choose this class?”

Kendrick looked surprised that she was asked to speak. “I’ve been reading fantasy novels for a long time now. Their my favorite type of books.”

Claire didn’t have to hear Kendrick’s answer. She indulged Kendrick in her fantasy novel obsession. She knew any reading she did would help her in college and law school. She just wished she took an interest in the classics. They provided a much better foundation for her studies and helped improve her vocabulary. Claire expected Kendrick to outgrow these books during high school. She knew better than to force Kendrick to change. Delicacy was her first rule.

Dr. Tanenbaum smiled and then looked back to Claire. “I’ve been teaching this class now for five years. A few parents call the first week of school to ask about the subject matter. A few are worried about pagan or witch stories. This class is not anti-religious, Claire. It has great educational value, introducing some students that never enjoyed reading to stories that might interest them, and allowing others to pursue their favorite genre in a controlled environment where we can study them as literature. Let me assure you, this class has a good basis in educational research. Kendrick is learning the same lessons she would have learned in a more traditional class. But I understand and sympathize with parents’ concerns. That’s why I always start the first parent-teacher conference with this discussion. Do you have any particular concerns?”

Claire tried to pay attention to what Dr. Tanenbaum said, but her monotonous tone made it next to impossible. She knew the class fulfilled Kendrick’s eight-grade English requirement. What more did she need to know? “I’m interested in how you choose which fantasy literature the students will read. Ever since Kendrick showed an interest in the fantasy genre, I’ve tried to learn about these wonderful books.”

“That’s a great question. I look for the more classically accepted fantasy novels. Tolkien is a great example. Few people question the value of his writing. I choose many Hugo award-winning books as well. It’s good that you’re encouraging Kendrick. She shows a keen interest and is an excellent student of these books. For the most part, Kendrick is a wonderful student, a pleasure to have in my class.”

“For the most part?” Claire said and looked over to Kendrick. Claire had expected this meeting to go rather well and quickly. She was more concerned with Mr. Bander, Kendrick’s math teacher, who they were meeting next.

“As I said, Kendrick is a good student,” Dr. T. said and used her thumb to read a line in her grid grade book. “But she is missing a lot of homework assignments. I can tell she reads the books by her excellent discussions—she has three checks—but she hasn’t handed in six of the twenty assignments. These are chapter reports evaluating the novel’s developing theme and character growth. I use it both to ensure that the student reads and to force them to delve deeper during their reading than just the surface story.”

“Kendrick has a history of not doing her homework. We’ve been working on this for a few years now. She sometimes gets distracted, but I assure you she’ll make up the assignments and write some extra credit reports, with your permission, of course.”

“That won’t be necessary, Claire. If she made up the assignments, then she’ll be fine. This is Kendrick’s first non-honors English class. Because of the elective system during the student’s last year of English, no honors classes are offered.”

“I’ll be sure she gets those assignments to you. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you have your Ph.D. in? I’m always very impressed by the dedication necessary to obtain a doctorate.” Especially a useless doctorate like Claire was sure Dr. Tanenbaum had received.

To be continued...