1. My goal each year is to transform my classroom into an intellectual sanctuary, a
place where students engage in a serious study of words and language that allows them
to genuinely enjoy and take pleasure in the beauty and richness of literature. I strive to
create a space where students can, in the words of Emily Dickinson, “dwell in
possibility,” a room that is filled with questions, not answers, and a deep respect for the
process of learning and not the product. My ideal classroom is also filled with humor
and irony but never sarcasm or shame.
My education at St. John’s College, a program based on the Socratic model, has
taught me the art of dialogue, of listening intently, and of seeing other students as fellow
collaborators in a joint search towards understanding, all skills I strive toinstill within
my students every day. I am the “guide on the side,” handing students tools, making
tweaks and suggestions, letting them try, fail, and try again, always improving and
growing, asking hard questions, and never settling for easy answers.
We also spend substantial time exploring the event of reading and the event of
writing, thoroughly examining the art of annotation or “reading with a pen” and the
demanding but exhilarating art of written expression that can only be understood as a
process with many stages and steps. I teach my students to argue boldly, to cite
concrete examples, and to assert their own original voices, with keen attention to
mechanics and style. I also believe in providing opportunities to write creatively, in the
form of journals, screenplays, digital essays and poems, and to allow students to write in
a variety of contexts for a variety of audiences.
But teaching literature isn’t just about the exploration of ideas; it’s an
unparalleled tool for teaching character. The power of the story, of myth, of metaphor to
show us the what it means to be a hero, to be flawed, to be great, to be human, is what
began my love affair with literature. Great literature reveals humanity’s endless
complexity but also its brightest potential, showing not only who we are but what we can
be. Further, reading literature is the ultimate exercise in empathy; to step into the shoes
of a character, another human being, with a completely different set of circumstances
inherently evokes compassion, understanding, and a feeling of connectedness. I believe
it can transform even the most rigid of views.
The scope of my vocation, however, does not stop at the classroom but extends
into the hallways, onto the athletic fields, into the performing arts center, and even
beyond the walls of the school. I believe that to be fully human one must be in
community, and a school is the perfect place place to live out this ideal for both students
and faculty. I am living in community when I teach a player how to execute a corner kick
on the JV girls’ soccer team. I am living in community when I have my advisees over to
my home for a spaghetti dinner. I am living in community when I attend a funeral of a
father of one of my tenth grade students. I am living in community when I take a group

2. of students to volunteer at the Baltimore Station, a residential program for veterans
dealing with drug and alcohol abuse. These are the moments that propel my feet to the
floor every morning; this is why I teach.
In short, I believe a great education is not just about learning facts and dates, it’s
about learning how to think and to question, learning how to rise to one’s highest and
brightest potential, and learning how to be a part of something bigger and greater than
oneself.
Lucy Dawson
Upper School English
McDonogh School