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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A WORK WITH FEELING, February 28, 2009
This review is from: It's a Teacher's Life!: A Collection of Poems Set in a Girl's Private School (Paperback)
Free verse has become a universal mode for expressing thoughts, feelings, reality and unreality for many. Some writers write very bad verse (I find myself in this category), while others have mastered its form and are able to use it as a sharp tool, a soft pillow for pleasing landings and most importantly, sharing the many little pieces of their world with others. Helena Harper is quite obviously one of those with the skill and the feelings to accomplish the last mentioned.
It's A Teacher's Life is a small volume of free verse telling her story; her experiences and her thoughts during the time she taught at an all girls school in England. Now I judge poetry, in any form, by a few simple standards. First, is the author conveying her or his true feelings about and for the subject being addressed? Secondly, does the subject touch me; can I relate to what the author is trying to tell me. Thirdly, does the author use metaphors and similes that are realistic? As an example, if the author suddenly tries to compare a walking stick to some dead Etruscan God that no one but one extremely familiar with Etruscans and walking sticks could possible relate to, much less understand, then it is a useless attempt at communication. (Walking sticks possibly; Etruscan Gods, well that is rather problematic for most of us). The obscure becomes irrelevant, the more obscure; the more irrelevant and the fewer there are to enjoy and appreciate the author's work.
Fortunately for me, and for all of us, Ms Harper has fulfilled each of my requirements and given us an understandably work that most of us can perfectly relate to, even if all of us are not in the teaching profession. I have to admit that without exception I enjoyed each of the twenty offerings in this wonderful little book. As I read each piece, I could actually feel the happiness, frustrations, and indeed a twinge of anger and sadness here and there. Her obvious love for the children comes through, as well as her rather sardonic, caustic and realistic view of many of them, and her complete confusion and non-acceptance of many of the modern "things" that fill our lives is also shown. Her impatience with the mundane meetings, parents that to a certain extent make life difficult for both teacher and child, and the endless institutional requirements is quite apparent. Readers should not expect that each and every image presented here is a "happy' little glimpse into the life of a teacher, there are very realistic and rather whimsical "down" moments.
The teachers feed off the food
and the words of thanks
that fall occasionally from
pupils' and parents' lips.
These scraps of appreciation
satisfying momentarily
While thoughts of doing
something worthwhile
surface - though just temporarily -
until fatigue overwhelms
and drives the teachers home...
The meager morsels of gratitude
becoming rarer each year,
yet somehow teachers survive
on this diet of starvation
for year after year
Read these lines well. While we find here the words of a very dedicated individual, we also pick up just a bit of justifiable bitterness. Again, these words touched me, they communicated and I could relate; I could feel. On the other hand, there are many light moments expressed in this work to which I could also relate. That is one of the strong aspects of this collection as a whole; we get a taste of both the up and of the down. I must warn you though; due to the small size of the little volume and the author's propensity to use, at first glance, to use simple and easly understood language, a reader may be tempted to rip through this one. That is a big mistake as there is much more here than meets the eye!
This is a wonderful collection of poems that were written from the heart. This work would be an absolute wonderful gift for any teacher in your life; it would be a wonderful gift and read for anyone wishing to understand not only teachers, but all people who dedicate their lives to service.
Love this this small glimps into a remarkable woman's life, and I do hope more is to follow.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"The meager morsels of gratitude/becom[e] rarer each year,/ yet somehow teachers survive/ on this diet of starvation...", February 9, 2009
This review is from: It's a Teacher's Life!: A Collection of Poems Set in a Girl's Private School (Paperback)
This delightful collection of poems by a teacher in a private girls' school in England captures the highs and lows of teaching in a "caring environment/ where pupils are looked after/ and cherished." Always fearful of alienating the parents, the school still tries to serve as an impartial judge of the students' progress, even when those students are sometimes "pampered dears." Author Helena Harper describes the grand old building which serves as the school's physical setting, with its staffroom ("a place of refuge" from the hectic schedule) and workroom (with its broken photocopier and occasional gossip), but she also describes her "family of workroom colleagues" who become, during the school year, "an indefinable whole--/ a close, invisible/ community of the soul."
Reflecting on the speed of life for faculty who never seem to have enough time, especially when a school assembly runs late, a test has to be graded, or a deadline is nearing, Harper shows the care with which teachers prepare lessons, mark papers, deal with parents, stay up late developing all the necessary paperwork for the inspectors who certify the school, and always put their best faces forward as they encourage young children and help them become adults.
Her wryly breezy poetic style also captures the sights, sounds, and smells of an elderly building filled with busy, young children and hard-working employees--the motherly matron/nurse, who dispenses advice to both the students and the faculty; the departing cook, whose chuckles, laughs, and lack of complaint make her a true Joy; Emilio, a "caretaker of immense rarity" from Spain, who has worked (slowly) for thirty years fixing whatever needs to be fixed and who is now retiring to Spain; and Amy the Able, the Queen of Resources, who is the school's efficient administrative assistant.
Despite the busy-ness and the late-night work, a teacher's life in this small, nurturing school, is just about ideal, and Harper celebrates her happiness there. Teachers have the supplies they need, students are expected by the school AND their parents to study hard and do their work, parents attend meetings, off-campus field trips provide a break in the hectic routine (and create their own headaches), and everyone involved seems to be on the "same side." Life is relatively peaceful, a far cry from inner city turmoil and high pressure suburban AP programs. Harper's lovely memorial to an almost lost way of life celebrates the best intentions of teachers and schools--and their successes. n Mary Whipple
Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirit of Educators
Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Teachers
The New Yorker Book of Teacher Cartoons
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Teacher's Life in Poetry, February 9, 2009
This review is from: It's a Teacher's Life!: A Collection of Poems Set in a Girl's Private School (Paperback)
"It's a Teacher's Life!" is a short, elegant and whimsical collection that explores in poetry a year in the life of a teacher at a private school for girls in England. The language and experiences are British indeed, but the author's feelings, frustrations, and hopes touch on the universal. The author, Helena Harper, worked for two years in banking before deciding to become a teacher. The reader learns Harper's thoughts about her chosen profession through poetry.
The little book consists of twenty poems and eighty pages together with several small sketches which illustrate the themes of the poetry. The sketches add much to the book. The collection begins with a poem called "The School Ethos" in which Harper gently satirizes "the caring environment" free of discipline or criticism which her school tries to offer its charges. The book then proceeds from the beginning of the school year to the end. It concludes with a poem titled "The End-of-Year-Bash" which describes the speeches, recognition and refreshment that celebrate the end of the year of hard work in teaching and learning. At the end of the celebration, Harper reflects, as she does frequently in the book, on the passage of the year and its meaning. She concludes "It's just a divine mirage/ enticing us to play/ in this amazing, incredible human fray!"
The book describes the teacher's life in the classroom and out in the endless cycle of preparing and giving lessons, performing collateral duties at the school, attending trips and programs, and trying to please administrators, parents and overseers. Harper offers good character sketches of many people in the school, including the Head of Music, Mr. Cress, the German teacher, the long-suffering matron who selflessly eases both students and staff through a multitude of aches and pains, the cook, Joy, who is a favorite of the author, the caretaker, Emilio, who leaves the school after 30 years of service to return to his native Spain, and "Amy, the Able", the office administrator whose name speaks for itself.
For all the whimsy and lightness, Harper is at her best in her reflections of her role as a teacher and its significance. An example is the concluding passage from the "End-of-Year-Bash" quoted above. In a poem called "The Workroom" Harper describes the chore of lesson preparation with her colleagues. The poem concludes with an almost mystical passage of the unity of purpose that binds those in academic life:
"Unrelated they may be,
but an invisible strand,
like the air each breathes,
ties them together
and makes them as one -
no longer separate beings
but different aspects of
an indefinable whole -
a close, invisible
community of the soul."
In a poem called "The Lesson" describing the difficulty of classroom teaching, Harper again concludes with a meditative passage:
"that's the reward
for hours and hours of work
and patience,
a reward of infinite measure,
a priceless, unlimited treasure."
As a final example, at the conclusion of a poem called "The Exam", the students complete their work, the docents receive the exam books, and Harper reflects on the process:
"The teachers follow,
and silence reigns once more,
broken only by
the great illusion of time,
ticking indefatigably
in the phantom human mime."
In a short, light way, Harper's book explores the frustrations of the teacher's life. Through the short-term difficulty and travail, she captures something of its significance as well. This is a delightful little book.
Robin Friedman
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