As someone who values deep thinking but also taking breaks to have fun and regain brain power, Ms. Strachan has been sharing her knowledge and inspiring students as a teacher here for 19 years. If you look out the window, you might be able to see her chilling and walking around the soccer fields during her off-periods.

Lets see what she has to say about her experiences as an English teacher, her hobbies, and the most difficult question yet; which book she would memorize if our society transformed into that of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

Q: IF YOU COULD CHOOSE ONE BOOK TO MEMORIZE IN A FAHRENHEIT 451 SOCIETY, WHICH ONE WOULD IT BE?
A: I feel like the book I was in love with in college that I’m still kind of in love with is a book that not that many people actually read, even people who have degrees in English. It’s James Joyce’s Ulysses. It’s a very strange book, probably takes place in one day, but it’s about a bunch of different people slowly moving through one day. You have to enter the thoughts of another person, an admirable, really smart person, but a very real-feeling person. It’s a bit of a thought experiment, a modernist book, but I loved reading it. I would say I consider some of the characters almost like best friends, like people that I know better than I know some actual people.

Q: WHAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING PART OF BEING AN ENGLISH TEACHER?

A: There are so many great things about it; I would say my colleagues inspiring me is the most interesting part of this job. It keeps me on my toes, and of course the subject matter and the openness of the books we can teach , and how I can bring in nonfiction to complement any book as well. I’m always rethinking and redoing my lesson plans to include newer nonfiction that the students can connect to.

Q: WHAT IS YOUR TEACHING STYLE?

A: I think students say that I’m pretty relatable, as I never want to be lecturing. I do have a lot to say about the works I teach, so I sometimes slip into a little bit of lecturing but mostly I want to know what my students think about what they read and how it connects to their lives. So, I think my teaching style is relational.

Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK INFLUENCES OUR THOUGHTS THE MOST? (MEDIA, FRIENDS, PAST SITUATIONS, ETC.)

A: I think the answer is not the media. I think you guys are very savvy about what the media is throwing at you and I think that you don’t take it as seriously as we fear you’d take it, so I think it’s friends. That statement “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future,” was just some grouchy old person thing to say, but I do think it’s true. I think that your friends impact you a tremendous amount and I think your family does as well: the values that your family have passed on to you and the work ethic that they taught you to have.

Ms. Strachan has a good memory and is thrilled running into her students for the first time in school, so don’t be scared to say hi if you had her remotely previous years; she’ll probably remember you!