Back to school

Last week on Friday I went back to school - no, not as a student but as a substitute teacher. I have been appointed in that position at the Saint Johnsbury Academy, a prestigious 9 to 12-grade high school in the Northeast Kingdom - the far Northeast portion of Vermont, bordering the Canadian border.

This change so late in my life comes as a result of several different circumstances. Liz and I recently took ownership of a ranch-style house just five minutes from the Academy but frankly, I have become bored with being at home every day, and when the opportunity came up of being able to spend some time helping out at the Academy, I jumped at it. 

At the time of writing, I have sat in on two hour-long sessions of Grade 11 American History,

tow of Grade 12 English and two of Grade 11 English. The students are mostly American, but with a smattering of Chinese and other nationalities. 

The Academy offers a wide range of subjects and has a particularly wide range of the Arts, including  Visual Arts Courses comprising Foundations of Drawing and Painting, Anatomy and Figure Drawing, Printmaking, Photography, Fashion Design, Filmmaking, Digital Design, Clay, Sculpture, Water-based Painting, Oil Painting, Portfolio, AP Art, and Visual Art Capstone.

The Academy also offers Performing Arts Courses comprising Acting, Stagecraft, Popular Dance, Dance, Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Strings, Guitar, Music Appreciation/Theory, and AP Music. I believe that the coming year will certainly not be boring,