With a Little Effort, Teacher Makes Literature Come Alive
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Robert Fedell, an English teacher at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, is what some could call a grandmaster of teaching. He's amazingly literate. Not only has he read countless books, but he also knows most of Shakespeare's works inside and out. When teaching "Richard III" to my AP English literature class, he performed one of the last scenes by lying on the floor in a robe and Burger King crown, holding a toy horse and yelling, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" If that doesn't make the play memorable to students, I don't know what will.
Aside from these dramatic techniques, he also involves students by having a conversational teaching style and by always asking students to tell, in our own words, what an author is trying to convey, how and why. He even makes connections with students by making allusions ranging from "Saturday Night Live" to Saddam Hussein. Although the class is, by nature, tough, Mr. Fedell makes it much more enjoyable and worth it.
--Mercedes Gosnell,
senior
Dr. Phillips High School
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