Dory Gannes

English Teacher at Laurel School, Shaker Heights, Ohio

Grad Year: 2007

 

Deciding be an English major

I decided to pursue an English major after fumbling around in LS&A as well as The School of Education.  When I first arrived at the U of M, I thought I would end up with a business degree.  After freshman year, I shifted focus and began to think about education; I was interested in early childhood development.  But during sophomore year, I found myself deeply engaged in the conversations relevant to how people went about their daily lives; I thought the best-suited major would be psychology.  However, by junior year, I was tired of memorizing material and taking multiple-choice tests.  I realized that literature and writing classes, rather than those in psychology, were the ones providing me with the opportunities to critically think about people and their psyches.  Because of this, I finally made my decision (well into my junior year) to major in English.  After I graduated in April of 2007, I moved down to Shaker Heights, Ohio, and began teaching at Laurel School.  Laurel is an independent day school for girls, K-12, with a coed Pre-Primary School.  I have spent much of my time teaching 9th grade English but am also involved with the school's service learning program and coaching soccer and lacrosse.  
 
Attempting to approach the world as I approach a text

I feel as though I attempt to approach the world in much the same way as I approach a text. For example, if I find myself in a tough situation, I can think about the five elements of a short story: plot (what is going on), character (who is involved), conflict (what is wrong), theme (what, if anything, is recurring or familiar), and setting (where it is happening).  I tend to add "meaning" to this list and then think about how the situation, in the broader context, is meaningful and what lessons can be learned.

Advice to concentrators

#1.  Take a class with Anne Curzan; and,
#2.  If you are in the Honors Program, spend a significant amount of time choosing your thesis topic...because it will a part of your every-day life for the next 6-8 months

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