{"id":9743,"date":"2025-12-13T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/?p=9743"},"modified":"2025-12-12T03:21:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T03:21:06","slug":"comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Comfort For a Recovering English Teacher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Dunseith,+ND+58329\/@48.8076634,-100.0614307,560m\/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x52dc4dbfd5fef5f7:0x6614e84fea697508!8m2!3d48.8130569!4d-100.0609678!16zL20vMHlyNnI\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251209-DunseithNDWeelTurtleGoogleStreetView-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Google Street View: Wee'l Turtle in Dunseith, ND. (September 2024)\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dunseith, North Dakota, Frontage Road SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My memory, like my father&#8217;s, is occasionally creative. I remembered a someone writing that England&#8217;s public schools were dedicated to the idea &#8220;&#8230;that Tennyson would never happen again&#8230;.&#8221; Then, recently, I started re-reading a Wodehouse book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;&#8230;It was almost as if these [English public] schools, founded in the 1830s, had it for their main objective that Shelley and Byron would never happen again&#8230;.&#8221;<br> (Introduction by Wilfred Sheed (1975) to &#8220;Leave in to Psmith&#8221;, P. G. Wodehouse (1924))<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That both corrected my memory of the passage and, along with something my oldest daughter showed me, started me writing this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll get to that, after a clarification or three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#public\"><strong>&#8220;Public&#8221; Schools, Puritans, Progressives, and Attitudes<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#myyear\"><strong>My Year as a Teacher<\/strong><\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#curious\">The Curious Case of the Vanishing Counselor<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#student\">A Student Newspaper and &#8216;Problem&#8217; Students<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#making\"><strong>Making a Difference<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#americas\"><strong>America&#8217;s Founding Ideals, Ongoing Efforts<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"public\"><\/a>&#8220;Public&#8221; Schools, Puritans, Progressives, and Attitudes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/my-church-in-sauk-centre-minnesota-vandalized\/#eeek\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251210-service-pnp-ppmsca-86700-86771v-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Thomas Nast's 'The foreign church (Roman) declaring war upon our national public school'. Harper's Weekly (November 8, 1873)\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;The foreign church (Roman) declaring war upon our national public school&#8221;<br>Thomas Nast, Harper&#8217;s Weekly magazine. (November 8, 1873)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>English public schools aren&#8217;t &#8220;public&#8221; the way American public schools are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In England, &#8220;public&#8221; schools will take students from anywhere: provided that their parents pay them to process the kids. Over here, we&#8217;d call them &#8220;private&#8221; schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>American &#8220;public&#8221; schools are government entities, with a convoluted history going back to colonial days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Basically, they started with New England Puritans and got a boost in the Progressive Era, so you <strong>know<\/strong> they&#8217;re a wonderful idea.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/my-church-in-sauk-centre-minnesota-vandalized\/#eeek\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20160719ff\/20160723-800px-Ganges1876-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Thomas Nast's 'The American River Ganges,' warning Americans against the Catholic threat. (May 8, 1875)\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;The American River Ganges&#8221;, Thomas Nast, Harper&#8217;s Weekly magazine. (May 8, 1875)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Or not, depending on how closely one looks at my country&#8217;s history: and, of course, individual viewpoints.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#1\">1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think learning to read, write, do basic arithmetic, and getting introduced to various crafts, are good ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I even think that giving the children of recent immigrants, not-so-recent immigrants, and folks whose ancestors made treaties that weren&#8217;t recognized until my youth, a &#8216;This is America 101&#8217; briefing is a good idea. Or could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But as the sort of person ardent promoters of American public schools saw as a threat, I&#8217;m not a huge fan of the system. Not as it developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The year I spent trying to teach in one of these processing units affected, I&#8217;ll grant, my perceptions and opinions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"myyear\"><\/a>My Year as a Teacher<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Dunseith,+ND+58329\/@48.8130362,-100.082807,4406m\/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x52dc4dbfd5fef5f7:0x6614e84fea697508!8m2!3d48.8130569!4d-100.0609678!16zL20vMHlyNnI\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251209-DunseithNorthDakotaGoogleMaps-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Google Maps: Dunseith, North Dakota.\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dunseith, North Dakota: south of the International Peace Garden and Turtle Mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My first, and last, teaching job was in Dunseith, North Dakota. Then, as now, a few hundred folks call it home.<sup><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/#2\">2<\/a><\/sup> Urban amenities like traffic jams and gangs were in short supply, but I liked the town and my neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The high school: I don&#8217;t know what was going on there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teachers were, I think, trying to teach their subjects. So was I: English, journalism, and something else I forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The folks running the place: again, I don&#8217;t know what was going on. I do know that anomalies encouraged me to start a journal, which I later turned over to folks involved with the teacher&#8217;s union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yes, I was in a union: my first and last experience with that American institution, which is another topic for another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only oddity that stayed in my memory was being told to stand watch outside another teacher&#8217;s classroom and report undesirable behavior. I am not making that up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the school year, the school administration didn&#8217;t renew my contract. I also learned that I was, ostensibly, responsible for the school&#8217;s woes \u2014 the last half-dozen-plus years of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Folks I&#8217;d gotten to know there told me that the accusation was, I&#8217;ll be polite, a lot of hooey. And standard practice for labeling new teachers who failed to win approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that, I fared better than the school counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"curious\"><\/a>The Curious Case of the Vanishing Counselor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>He was, ethnically, like many of the students: someone whose ancestors had been here since long before Vikings, and then other Europeans, got interested in this continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part-way through the school year he disappeared, showing up later several states over before coming back to his office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My guess is that he knew more about what was going on than I did, took what was happening to the kids far more personally, and decided that his sanity would benefit from an unscheduled break in routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope that unofficial sabbatical helped. I liked him, and think he took what should have been his job seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"student\"><\/a>A Student Newspaper and &#8216;Problem&#8217; Students<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>My time there wasn&#8217;t all bleak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of teaching journalism, I had the class put together a school newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They did a pretty good job, and I think they enjoyed what they were doing. Partly, I suspect, because I told them, after sketching out how the publication could be organized, that I was around for any technical questions they had, and that it was their paper: the content was up to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was some sort of dramatic presentation, too, but I don&#8217;t remember much about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another high point came as my wife and I were packing, getting ready to leave. A small group of the &#8216;problem students&#8217; came to apologize for being the reason I was leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I assured them that we were okay, and that they weren&#8217;t the problem. I hope I phrased it well enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seriously: they were &#8216;problem students&#8217;, and had attitude in abundance. But, when it comes to that, <strong>I<\/strong> have attitude. And I wasn&#8217;t facing more time in that institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They were \u2014 okay, and I was okay with them. I&#8217;ll leave it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"making\"><\/a>Making a Difference<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/Dunseith,+ND+58329\/@48.8076634,-100.0614307,560m\/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x52dc4dbfd5fef5f7:0x6614e84fea697508!8m2!3d48.8130569!4d-100.0609678!16zL20vMHlyNnI\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20251209-DunseithNDWeelTurtleGoogleStreetView-WithInset-658.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Google Street View: Wee'l Turtle in Dunseith, ND. (September 2024)\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Wee&#8217;l Turtle in Dunseith, North Dakota.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our oldest daughter was very young when we lived in Dunseith. We lived near the school, and near a Dunseith landmark: the Wee&#8217;l Turtle, a massive sculpture made of implement wheels, if my memory serves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She loved that turtle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast-forward about four decades. I remember the turtle, but she doesn&#8217;t. She does, however, remember my talking about the school, the kids, and my concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, she shared this with me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Hey! Just got this response to a comment I made ranting about your old teaching job:&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m Crow and my aunt is a retired teacher. I just wanted you to know that there are now many college educated Crow Indian teachers. My cousin&#8217;s daughter is a Principal at a small school on the Rez. My cousin is being encouraged to apply for the Principal position at another small town school. My ex teaches Crow Language for grades K-8 at an academy on the Rez. Maybe your Dad taught my cousin or my ex. He made a difference. Let him know.&#8217;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(From a Discord chat with my oldest daughter (December 3, 2025)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Following that person&#8217;s recommendation, she let me know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reading it was a real comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The degree to which I made a difference, that&#8217;s something I still don&#8217;t know. Not for sure. But it&#8217;s reassuring to hear that some good has come out of a situation I was briefly part of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a name=\"americas\"><\/a>America&#8217;s Founding Ideals, Ongoing Efforts<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/death-and-evil-but-also-light-and-hope\/#cleanup\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/brendans-island.com\/blogsource\/20250726ff\/20250902-MelroseChurchFire2016WCCO-329.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Screenshot from WCCO YouTube video: 'Historic Church, Damaged By Arson, Opens Doors To Public' (June 14, 2016)\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">St. Mary&#8217;s in Melrose, Minnesota, a few miles down the road: torched in 2016. (WCCO (June 2016))<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Finally, the usual links; this week, how I see America&#8217;s ongoing efforts to act as if our founding ideals matter \u2014 and living in a country where some citizens don&#8217;t approve of people like me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/building-a-civilization-of-life-and-love-one-mind-at-a-time\/\"><strong>Building a Civilization of Life and Love, One Mind at a Time<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (November 15, 2025)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/building-a-civilization-of-life-and-love-one-mind-at-a-time\/#assumption\">An Assumption and &#8220;The Apotheosis of Washington\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/principles-priorities-politics-and-being-catholic\/\"><strong>Principles, Priorities, Politics: and Being Catholic<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (September 21, 2024)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/principles-priorities-politics-and-being-catholic\/#love\">Love and Good Ideas<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/independence-day-2024-america-and-context-a-short-ramble\/\"><strong>Independence Day, 2024: America and Context, a Short Ramble<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (July 4, 2024)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/independence-day-2024-america-and-context-a-short-ramble\/#our\">&#8220;&#8230;Our Pleasing Hopes&#8230;&#8221; and a Persistent Perception<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/independence-day-2024-america-and-context-a-short-ramble\/#being\">Being a Good Citizen AND a Catholic<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/independence-day-2024-america-and-context-a-short-ramble\/#patriot\">A &#8220;Patriot Dream That Sees Beyond the Years&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/my-church-in-sauk-centre-minnesota-vandalized\/\"><strong>My Church in Sauk Centre, Minnesota: Vandalized<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (September 24, 2022)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/my-church-in-sauk-centre-minnesota-vandalized\/#remembering\">Remembering Arson Down the Road<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/my-church-in-sauk-centre-minnesota-vandalized\/#eeek\">EEEK! Catholics!!! \u2014 or \u2014 Acting Like Love Matters, Anyway<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/history-viewpoints-narratives-and-ancient-rome\/\"><strong>History, Viewpoints, Narratives and Ancient Rome<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (July 2, 2022)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/history-viewpoints-narratives-and-ancient-rome\/#historical\">Historical Narratives<\/a> (Considering Custer, viewpoints, and details)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-black-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-black-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"1\"><\/a>1<\/sup> An author, two poets, English &#8220;public&#8221; schools, and (briefly) schools in America:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_education_in_the_United_States\">History of education in the United States<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_education_in_the_United_States#Colonial_era\">Colonial era<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_education_in_the_United_States#Textbooks\/Workbooks\">Textbooks\/Workbooks<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_education_in_the_United_States#20th_century\">20th century<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/History_of_education_in_the_United_States#Progressive_Era\">Progressive Era<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lord_Byron\">Lord Byron<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Percy_Bysshe_Shelley\">Percy Bysshe Shelley<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/simple.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Public_school_(United_Kingdom)\">Public school (United Kingdom)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wilfrid_Sheed\">Wilfrid Sheed<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>My admittedly-biased view of the Progressive Era and Puritan perspectives\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/couneys-baby-incubators-vs-the-progressive-era\/\"><strong>Couney&#8217;s Baby Incubators vs. the Progressive Era<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (February 8, 2021)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/couneys-baby-incubators-vs-the-progressive-era\/#efficiency\">Efficiency, Eugenics, and Me<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/spiritualism-attitudes\/\"><strong>Spiritualism, Attitudes<\/strong><\/a>&#8221; (June 1, 2018)\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/spiritualism-attitudes\/#satanical\">&#8220;&#8230;Satanical Practices&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><sup><a name=\"2\"><\/a>2<\/sup> A small town south of the Turtle Mountains and a special place:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wikipedia\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Dunseith,_North_Dakota\">Dunseith, North Dakota<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/International_Peace_Garden\">International Peace Garden<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Turtle_Mountain_(plateau)\">Turtle Mountain (plateau)<\/a> (AKA Turtle Mountains)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My memory, like my father&#8217;s, is occasionally creative. I remembered a someone writing that England&#8217;s public schools were dedicated to the idea &#8220;&#8230;that Tennyson would never happen again&#8230;.&#8221; Then, recently, I started re-reading a Wodehouse book. &#8220;&#8230;It was almost as &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/comfort-for-a-recovering-english-teacher\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Looking back on my year as a high school teacher: the kids, who were okay; a counselor who disappeared; and reassurance that it all mattered.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Comfort For a Recovering English Teacher: After Four Decades","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,239,192,209],"tags":[16,242,27],"class_list":["post-9743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discursive-detours","category-family-stories","category-journal","category-series","tag-america","tag-education","tag-history"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Dwtw-2x9","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9743"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9759,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9743\/revisions\/9759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brendans-island.com\/catholic-citizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}