I most certainly read Lord of the Flies at Havre High School, very likely mediated by Mr. Axel Schmaing, though in just what course escapes me at the moment.
I also had the great pleasure of seeing the truly harrowing 1963 Brit film during the Spring of 1980, as part of Prof. Robert Arends’ infamously entertaining “Films of the Sixties” series, which held public screenings at the Northern Montana University SUB Ballroom, if memory serves:
As it happens I’m awaiting just the right evening to revisit “Piggy” and his tormenters, having finally acquired the dvd not too many months back!
And I agree that the 1970s Havre High English curriculum seems more striking from this vantage than it did in its moment. Not sure how widespread some of those novels (particularly such Des Margaris faves as A SEPARATE PEACE, THE ASSISTANT, and of course her beloved CATCHER!) were nationally at the high school level then. Orwell’s big duo (ANIMAL FARM & 1984) were probably everywhere, but something like PITCAIRN’S ISLAND, say, seemed willfully obscure even back then!
I’d actually be quite curious to know what the present HHS curriculum looks like, now that no trace remains of “our faculty”.
By the by, always nice to encounter the Tim Leeds byline, which may be the last remaining local media link to even Pam’s era, though at least I did know him, and you likely coached him at some point.
Thanks for the local theater update, Jay….makes me proud to have been a Havre Blue Pony! LOL
And I’d attend both versions of that play in a heartbeat, if only I were passing through town this weekend.
– Tom Kipp
—–Original Message—–
From: Jay Schuschke
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2012 10:29 AM
To: Kipp, Thomas J
As one of those sophomore English teachers forced for years to teach "Lord of the Flies", I found the idea of this story intriguing:
http://www.havredailynews.com/news/story-435167.html
It is interesting that the theatre department is doing something at least more challenging (if not more controversial) than the usual safe stuff one has come to expect. It wouldn’t be so surprising if this was the Montana Actor’s Theatre (MAT) based at MSU-Northern and other places in the state. But for Havre High – this is about as "experimental" as it gets.
Interesting note: I was never required to read "Lord of the Flies" in high school (although it became the absolute go-to staple of sophomore English all seventeen years I taught – that covered three different school districts, no less). How about you folks – did you have to read it? I believe I was more fortunate to have to read the likes of "The Outsiders", "Siddhartha", "The Razor’s Edge" and even "The Grapes of Wrath". No doubt to me that Havre High’s English curriculum was unique (don’t know if it has survived) even if some the instructors weren’t always quite up to handling the material.
