From Susanna Kearsley, a former student rants awesomely in support of his former teacher, who writes under the pen name Judy Mays..
Well Played, sir. Well Played.
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An excellent teacher brilliantly supported by a former student trumps crappy reporting and a few incredibly silly parents.
Well played indeed.
Amy, you make some really interesting and cogent points.
It may turn out that this malicious ‘outing’ of Mrs. Buranich will do her a lot of good, both as a teacher and a novelist, in the longer term.
I hope so, because that will be the perfect outcome, if the clumsy and spiteful attempt to discredit her ultimately results in increased admiration and respect for her work.
Isn’t it frightening what pious-minded narrowness can bring about? The concerned parent(s)? should worry more about their own failings and less about what an English teacher does in her spare time, as she kept the two “lives” apart. So, whether you read or not racy romances, it’s a choice you make. I, for instance, usually don’t, but I shall buy at least a couple of her books as answer to this ‘stupid is as stupid does’ attitude) If she didn’t hand them out during classes, I fail to see the issue. Ooops…and that’s my major failing!
I’ve got to say, I totally agree with adorable video boy about not censoring what your children read. I was encouraged to read whatever caught my eye from a very young age, and always felt comfortable discussing books with my dad. As a consequence, I grew up in the Deep South with a very wide understanding of the world. I did the same with my kids, and they are both readers (one is a librarian) and much better at accepting (not just tolerating) diversity than their peers.
I am so re-posting this! what i want to know is how in the Heck this is any of their buisness in the first place!?
i personally have several teachers in my family and i would be deeply offended if somebody wrote an artical like this about them. who really gives a crap what they do in their spare time? as long as it doesn’t interfear with their job i really don’t see the problem. i totally agree with him. if you don’t like it, don’t read it! nobody is making you read it. as for the students they don’t care, they are in high school! if they’re not having sex already they do know about it good grief they have a class about it for crying out loud!
I agree with the notion that censoring your teenagers’’ reading is pretty damn wrong to begin with.* I mean, if they’re reading Mein Kampf and the Turner Diaries, yeah, you might want to look into that, but romance novels? Seriously?
If they’re 15-17, they’ve read more explicit stuff. Hell, *I* read more explicit stuff a few years younger than that, and that was before the Internet had exploded as much as it has. TEENAGERS ARE INTERESTED IN SEX, FILM AT ELEVEN. Honestly? If they’re not getting the “good parts” from romance novels, they’ll get them from the same place previous generations did: V.C. Andrews and Jean Auel. (“It’s about cavemen, Mom! It’s educational!”) Werewolf threesomes aren’t really any less healthy.
*Also totally ineffectual. My mom attempted to ban romance novels for a couple years when I was twelveish. As a result, I know a few skills that would serve me well if I became a bootlegger; I did not, notably, read fewer romance novels. The only way to cut the kids off completely from “problematic” reading material is to turn your house into something of a police state…
…in which case, I hope you’re not looking forward to many holiday dinners after they get through college. I’m just saying. Far better to let the kids read what they want and discuss it with them like, oh, an adult.
Hahhahaha!
Ditto with the new crush. Siiigh.
This woman must be a phenomenal teacher if one of her former students has come so memorably to her defense. Well said, indeed. I have several friends who are teachers and, here’s some wisdom for the ages, folks, so pay attention: THEY ARE NOT JUST WHAT THEY DO. Because they teach doesn’t mean that they don’t get to have personal lives. Even personal lives of what some might consider a questionable nature.
I’m going to go buy a Judy Mays book or five.