Back to high school

Very soon (two and a half weeks from now!) I'm going to be teaching a three-week course on World War II.  I'm terrified about this because: a.) after all this sickness and travel, I'm getting behind on my writing; b.) the syllabus is due on Thursday, and there is so much that I still haven't done;  and c.) it's been two years since I've done any teaching work (and I've never been in charge of my own class all by myself).  I know that I'm more than qualified: I did all the comps reading, I've helped to design courses, I've guest-lectured, and I've been a TA more times that I can count.  But it's still scary.

Chris knew that I was getting stressed out about all of this, and so he offered me an opportunity to ease back into the classroom environment in a small, pressure-free way: he's bringing me in to his Film & Video 12 class, to talk with the kids about Leni Riefenstahl and The Triumph of the Will.  They're going to be finishing watching the film tomorrow, and a required part of the course is to watch the film and learn about the context.  And boy, do I know about the film, the filmmaker and the context.  (I did a lot of research about Riefenstahl for a course I designed years ago.)  So, all I have to do is go into a small class, full of kids that I already know, and talk about a filmmaker, a film, and a historical period that I can't shut up about anyway.

The principal of Chris's school heard that I'm coming to school on Monday, and asked if I could also talk with the Social Studies 11 class about primary sources and about research.  He's encouraging me to show the kids some primary sources from my own research, to give them an idea of what a historian does.

You know, I'm actually giddy about tomorrow morning.  I'm going to get a chance to get used to talking to a class again, in an situation where I get to have a laid-back conversation about things that really interest me.  And then I'm going to get set up in an unused office and get some serious work done on my course and my dissertation.  (And, having forced myself to write at Chris's school before, I know that I'll make some good progress tomorrow: talking about history will clear out my head, and then the unfamiliar office will be free of distractions, with only my work to entertain me.)

Now I must sleep.  Early morning tomorrow.

Today

Making me feel sluggish today: fourth straight day of clouds and rain.

Making me feel exhausted today: yoga class + my utter lack of leg muscles.

Making me feel like a cliché today: I had quiche with arugula for supper last night. And will do so again for lunch.

Making me feel accomplished this week: I had a very successful weekend of cooking and baking. The chocolate zucchini cake was perfect, and I will definitely use that recipe again. Christina's suggestion of using bacon fat on the turkey = delicious.

Keeping me entertained this week: comedic mysteries. Jasper Fforde, Castle (a newish show that has strong Remington Steele overtones? Yes please), and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Making me feel frightened and outraged today: Russian historian arrested in clampdown on Stalin era (from the Guardian). (Seriously: read this article.)

Personal connections with history

Four years ago (just after we moved out here), I got a bunch of phone calls from family members telling me that I really ought to have been at our recent family reunion in Saskatchewan: at the reunion, my Grandma's cousin Muriel revealed that she'd worked closely with Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill in the British Cabinet War Rooms during the Second World War. Until about 2005, everything about her work in World War II had been classified information, and now that it was declassified she was in demand for interviews. (In fact, she'd been on her way to London to be interviewed for a documentary when the July 2005 London bombings occurred.)

This information has always been a little surreal to me, processing the fact that this sweet little British woman I'd met at family gatherings had worked closely with Prime Ministers in the Key Points Intelligence Service, had worked in Churchill's secret bunker, and then spent six decades not telling anyone about it.

Dad called today to tell me that this week Muriel's been interviewed by a bunch of major newspapers, coinciding with a new exhibition of the War Rooms. This is the first article he found, and then we found this one, and then this information about the exhibition.

I'm so glad that her stories are getting out now. And I finally have some documentary evidence to support my assertions when I cite "my Grandma's cousin Muriel" as informing me that Neville Chamberlain was already preparing to go to war with Germany when he made the Munich Pact of 1938; he was just trying to buy more time for Britain before they went to war, because they'd been so badly hit by the Depression.

So, I find that all to be cool.

Update: My dad just sent me this article he found that has more of Muriel's story, as she was relating it to some schoolchildren in Bath (where her daughter lives, I believe). It's still strange to hear her referred to as "Churchill's secretary."

Update 2: In response to hearing that Grandma's cousin was Churchill's secretary, Chris exclaimed "You're only three degrees of separation from Hitler!" Thanks honey.