Given Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow six more weeks of winter now lie ahead. More frigid temperatures, more snow (fluffy and/or crusty), and more coatings of ice. All this gives us more time to stay put—and more time to reflect. Nostalgia sets in. One of my first jobs out of college was teaching at Crossroads, an independent junior high school in St. Louis. Arthur and Carol Lieber founded the school in 1974. They were visionary, full of drive and good ideas, and bursting with energy—also on a mission and deeply committed to creating a racially integrated innovative environment. They were devoted to each of their students and made learning experiential and individualized.
The school opened in a community center in Laclede Town, a mixed income housing development not too far from downtown St. Louis. I taught English and developed a drama program at Crossroads, directing a wide range of plays—Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Wizard of Oz, Madwoman of Chaillot, The Miracle Worker, and Pygmalion. We produced Antigone in a Gothic stone church with dramatic lighting that created larger-than-life shadows. The St. Louis Arch on the Mississippi was the setting for Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Sets were simple and costumes pieced together from friends’ attics. It was a dream job.
When the school celebrated its 50th anniversary, I reconnected with several alums. I was surprised to learn one of them had a not too fond memory of my English literature reading list—she called it “overly ambitious.” She may have been right. I had assigned Faulkner’s Light in August. It didn’t prove a popular choice. My former student said Faulkner’s repetition of “I’ve come a fer piece” drove her up a wall. To protest she and a few classmates burned the book in the outdoor parking lot. I’d blocked this from my memory but was told they later wrote an apology. The class never finished Light in August but I did get them to read As I Lay Dying (it’s a good deal shorter). I can laugh about it now—I also became a better teacher over the years.
As part of the anniversary celebration I also had a good time reminiscing with Arthur Lieber. Here’s the video he recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHqDKTOgkBo
