English the next day was just as unique. Mr. Keating continued to break the standard set by Welton with his daring beliefs. And Lilith was thrilled.
"Gentlemen and ladies, open your text to page twenty-one of the introduction. Mr. Perry, will you read the opening paragraph of the preface, entitled "Understanding Poetry"?
Scarlett happened to already be opened to that page, and glanced around. Camille caught her eye as she flipped quickly through the pages and smiled. The blonde winked and turned back to her book.
While Mr. Keating was drawing a graph on the board, Lilith subtly rolled a note to Scarlett from the seat behind Todd.
you're staring, sweetie
Scarlett's cheeks bloomed with a rare blush and immediately looked to the board. Mr. Keating had drawn a scale for measuring poetry. Neil was still reading the introduction.
"A sonnet by Byron may score high on the vertical, but only average on the horizontal. A Shakespearean sonnet, on the other hand, would score high both horizontally and vertically, yielding a massive total area, thereby revealing the poem to be truly great. As you proceed through the poetry in this book, practice this rating method. As your ability to evaluate poems in this matter grows, so will - so will your enjoyment and understanding of poetry."
He removed his glasses and looked expectantly at Mr. Keating.
"Excrement."
The whole class looks shocked.
"That's what I think of Mr. J. Evans Pritchard," Mr. Keating grins. "We're not laying pipe, we're talking about poetry."
Lilith straightened up, interest piqued. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cameron scribbling out the graph in his notes. Charlie, noticing Lilith's sudden focus, also looked up from his notes, slightly intrigued.
"I mean, how can you describe poetry like American Bandstand? I like Byron, I give him a 42, but I can't dance to it."
A few tentative chuckles rippled through the class. Charlie was now almost more interested than Lilith, pausing his sketching to give Mr. Keating his undivided attention.
"Now I want you to rip out that page."
A stunned silence follows this proclamation. The class stared at Keating as though he had gone mad.
"Go on, rip out the entire page. You heard me."
No one moved.
"Rip it out!" their teacher exclaimed vehemently.
The sound of ripping paper came from the left side of the classroom. Both Charlie and Scarlett were holding up disembodied pages, broad grins on their faces.
"Thank you, Miss Armstrong and Mr. Dalton. Ladies and gentlemen, tell you what, don't just tear out that page, tear out the entire introduction. I want it gone, history. Leave nothing of it. Rip it out. Rip! Begone J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D. Rip, shred, tear. Rip it out. I want to hear nothing but ripping of Mr.Pritchard."
Everyone began gleefully ripping out pages. Even Meeks, with some hesitation, began mutilating his textbook. Cameron was still reluctant.
YOU ARE READING
WE ARE GOLDEN--DEAD POETS SOCIETY
Fanfictionit's everything the welton boys had prayed for. girls were attending welton. henley hall's finest students were attending as a result of their excellent grades and slight flair for rebellion (edited and changed 12/31/21-1/1/22, so some comments ma...
