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The Lore of Salem – American Lit on the Road
English teacher Kersea Calhoun is new to Gould this year, although you’d never know it. She jumped in feet first from day one and has fully embraced Gould’s “learn-by-doing” teaching philosophy. Her American Literature class is currently reading the seasonally appropriate play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, set during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Ms. Calhoun, new to boarding school life and New England, used her first weekend duty* to bring a busload of students on a day trip to Salem, Massachusetts.
“The Crucible is one of my favorite texts to teach in American Literature because the story itself serves as an allegory to events in American history that highlight the relationship between fear and power, ” Ms. Calhoun explains. “Studying the mechanisms that contribute to power dynamics can be a lofty task, but a play like The Crucible offers up a space to discuss these complexities that are also captivating from a pop-cultural perspective.”
Allison Chase ’24, from Bethel, Maine, is one of those captivated students.
“It’s not very often that you stand in the same place as the people you’re reading about,” she said. “Walking through the same streets of Salem the characters in The Crucible did really put into perspective the lessons we’re learning in class. The people killed during the trials were real people.”
The students got into the spirit of the witch trials and enjoyed the theatrics of town. They visited the Salem Witch Museum and took in the gruesome accounts of what occurred hundreds of years ago, but they also made connections to what The Crucible is alluding to. They drew parallels to the McCarthy-era Red Scare and Japanese Internment Camps.
“This is the first year I have taught at a school where making a trip to Salem while studying this play was possible, so I jumped on the opportunity!” Ms. Calhoun went on to say that “giving students the chance to immerse themselves in the lore of Salem” reinforced the concepts they covered in class and boosted engagement.
The new trip is sure to become an annual event in the English Department, especially when you consider how much fun Ms. Calhoun had herself.
“I’m not sure who was more excited—me or the kids!” ■
*It’s worth noting that Ms. Calhoun not only had dish duty the next morning but also brought a group of students to go night hiking on East Royce Mountain, enjoying hot chocolate at the summit under the stars.
Private High School for Boys and Girls | Grades 9-12, Postgraduate and Winter Term for Grades 7-8 | Boarding School in the Mountains of Maine
Gould Academy guides students to be creative, courageous and resilient and to lead lives of fulfillment and purpose.
Gould Academy guides students to be creative, courageous and resilient and to lead lives of fulfillment and purpose.
