Teachers bring literary characters to life

Play-acting gives a new twist to studying for exams Vernon — With great enthusiasm and not a little flair, Vernon Township High School English teachers gave their own spin to that old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Read instead: “Please guess this book by my costume.” With the impending Advanced Placement tests this month, Vernon teachers wanted to inject some new energy into the tedious preparation period. At the suggestion of AP English teacher Thom LoGiudice, they each chose a favorite literary character or author and came to school dressed as that individual. Advanced Placement students then had to visit each teacher during the day and through a series of probing questions, guess the character or author. The first student to get them all right was the winner. But that wasn’t all. The AP students, too, were themselves dressed as characters. Torn from the pages While the characters may not have literally come to life, the staff and students did. Hamlet questioned whether to be or not; Nurse Ratchet offered lobotomies and cold-hearted Miss Havisham, still dressed in her yellowed wedding attire more than a decade after being jilted, growled at men as she limped around in one shoe. (Dickens’ famous character was almost dressed when she received the note telling her that her fiancé was not showing. She froze time and never finished getting dressed.) Why it matters The AP tests are significant because students, after preparing for college level work all year, can earn real credits which are accepted by most colleges and universities. The senior AP English test focuses specifically on literature, and knowledge of characters is essential to succeed. Not only did those students enjoy the study aid, but also other students at the change of classes pushed down the halls trying to catch a glimpse of Phoebe riding her scooter (in “Catcher in the Rye” she was actually roller skating, but teacher Marc Bray couldn’t find his roller skates so he improvised.) Cyrano de Bergerac attracted stares with his famous and unavoidable bulbous nose, and Tim O’Brien, from the Vietnam war novel “The Things They Carried,” surprised everyone by coming to school in full army gear. Curly and Lenny from “Of Mice and Men” — almost every student’s favorite book — managed to avoid confrontations in the presence of students. Thom Loguidice came dressed as Estragon from “Waiting for Godot.” Word has it that the teachers are already planning their characters for next spring.