“The History Teacher” by Billy Collins

1. “The History Teacher”by Billy Collins Continuation of deep thoughts… Answer the following questions… Write a new & improved deep thought paragraph.

2. The History Teacher (by Billy Collins) Trying to protect his students’ innocence he told them the Ice Age was really just the chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters. And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age, named after the long driveways of the time. The Spanish Inquisition was nothing more Than an outbreak of questions such as “How far is it from here to Madrid?” “What do you call the matador’s hat?” The War of the Roses took place in a garden And the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom On Japan. The children would leave his classroom For the playground to torment the weak and the smart, Mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses, While he gathered up his notes and walked home Past the flower beds and white picket fences, Wondering if they would believe that soldiers in the Boer War told long, rambling stories designed to make the enemy nod off.

3. What type of child do you think the History Teacher might have been? • What does that imply about the power of education?

4. I believe that Billy Collins is saying that no education leads to violence. • What section of the poem contradicts this claim? • What section of the poem is not at all addressed by this claim?

5. This poem is about the protection of innocence. • Assuming this idea is a good one (!), how could this scrawny sentence be improved? • A. Why is the above sentence scrawny? • What sections of the text contradicts this statement? • What portions of the text are completely ignored by this statement?

6. By not educating the kids, though they are born violent, become more violent. • How can you make this sentence more smooth? • What controversial assumption is being made in this statement? • Could it be that the assumption is the actual poit being made by the poet?

7. The teacher represents all society and the children represent all children. • This statement is too strong. How could you modify it and still use it? • If this statement is true, what is the meaning of the poem? • If this is true, what about the picket fences?

8. This teacher, who is ignoring history, does not have the life he could have. • This statement is sort of true. • How do you make this statement all the way true? • Once the statement is true, what about the picket fences?

9. The teacher believes that an education breeds conformity and meanness. • Who is the most educated person in the poem? Is he a conformist? How do you know? • What do you think of this sentence?

10. There is no way to achieve the American Dream except through violence or politics. • One part of this sentence is irrelevant to the poem, true though it may be. What part? • If this statement is true, what about the picket fences?

11. The teacher is part of a perpetuating cycle of violence. • Support this statement with evidence from the text. • Refute this statement with evidence from the text.

12. The children would leave his classroomFor the playground to torment the weakand the smart… • Why do they torment the other kids outside of class on the playground? • What assumption can be made about the efficacy of the teacher based on the answer to the first question?

13. Rewrite your deep thought paragraph (or two) using at least two paraphrases or direct quotes, and make sure your thoughts take into account the entire poem, not juts portions of it. • If you don’t have the poem, it is on the 2nd slide.