I vividly remember Dr. Cleven reading us this book last year, and I loved it! I can't remember reading this as a child, but I must have! When I was reflecting on my past literature experiences, this book came to mind. After a little research, I found it at the College of Education library. I can't believe it has been in circulation since 1977! After reading the story a million times to my roomate and children I babysit for, I have found what makes this book so unique and special.
In room 207, Miss Nelson sits quietly as her students create paper planes and spitballs to test her patience. While Miss Nelson tried her best to engage her students, they just weren't interested in their school work. Therefore, Miss Nelson had to devise a plan that would allow the children to get a taste of their own medicine. And this is where the horrible substitute Miss Viola Swamp enters the story. Her black dress and long nose created a depiction of a witch, and the children believed she was. She was horrible compared to Miss Nelson! The students were horrified at the amount of work they had to do for Miss Viola Swamp, and they wished Miss Nelson would return. Days went by and the students never saw Miss Nelson, they even went to the police! However, the story concludes as Miss Nelson returns to a classroom full of quiet and determined learners. What could have been the change? If you haven't read this AMAZING story, please do! It will have you laughing out loud!
After reading this book a few times, I began to reflect on what the underlying meaning was. Henry Allard and James Marshall developed the characters of Miss Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp to illustrate the importance of respecting individuals, as well as appreciating others. It is quite obvious that Miss Nelson's students didn't respect her authority or her desire to learn due to their behavior problems. As a cheerful and patient teacher, Miss Nelson was taken advantage of. However, when the subtitute teacher enters the storyline, the children change their behavior. Miss Viola Swamp's mean streak allowed the children to realize that they should have respected Miss Nelson and her desire to learn. I believe that this would be a GREAT story to read for children of any age. Throughout life, I believe individuals are disrespectful and unappreciative of others. Myself included! Therefore, I believe that this book would be great to introduce a lesson on respect, or even to serve as a reminder to children that they should appreciate what others do for them. This is a wonderful book, and I plan to have a copy in my classroom!
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I also remember Dr. Cleven reading this book to us and my family even bought it when I was little at my elementary school’s book fair. I was excited to have the chance to reflect and comment on this story, as it is one of my childhood favorites. Personally, it reminds me a lot of a book that I reflected on, “The Teacher from the Black Lagoon.” As a future teacher, I believe that this book demonstrates many important lessons. Many of the students in sweet-natured Miss Nelson’s wild class did not pay attention or listen to her, even though she tried her best to keep them occupied in interesting assignments. Miss Nelson’s problem is one that I fear to face in my own classroom, as I want to be a teacher that does more than just discipline all day long. To have a group of students that do not follow any type of direction that a teacher says has to be insulting and frustrating, especially in the first couple years of teaching. I would be absolutely distraught if my students’ aim was to drive me away! These negative feelings are probably what Miss Nelson was going through when she went to extremes in order to gain the respect and appreciation of her class, by bringing is Miss Viola Swamp.
When the students were hammered down with tons of work given by Miss Swamp, only then did they begin to realize the importance of Miss Nelson. I feel as if many times we are only thankful for something or someone when it is no longer there for us, and often too late to get back. I agree with Elizabeth in the fact that the moral of the story is stressing the importance of valuing and respecting others, regardless of if we get along with them or not. The book would be a great way to begin a lesson on character appreciation and respect of others. Also, it can serve as to show why a classroom needs rules and discipline, by identifying unsafe classroom behavior. A ton of lessons can springboard off of the book, like a Venn-diagram comparing Miss Nelson to Miss Swamp. The humorous storyline and creative pictures will definitely interest students of any age, and I will certainly make use of this book in my future classroom, and hope that I won’t have to call for Miss Swamp to sub in for my class!
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