2004 Beacon Award Winner
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Jan Stauber
Keeping the Memory Green (Being Sherlock Holmes) Middle School Jan Stauber spent over 10 years visiting classrooms in the guise of Sherlock Holmes, inspiring students and teachers to read about The Great Detective. |
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Keeping the Memory Green
(Published with permission from The Serpentine Muse, vol 19:3, summer 2003.)
With computers, TV, sports, and video games, it is very difficult to interest middle school youngsters in reading or academics. It is indeed a delight to see them become interested in Sherlock Holmes and the 19th century.
For the past 10 years, I have been visiting seventh and eighth grade classrooms dressed in Inverness cape and deerstalker, carrying a calabash and a magnifying glass. As soon as I enter the classroom, you can hear a pin drop. As I go around the room making deductions about certain students à la Sherlock Holmes, I can hear some giggles, but most of the class is enthralled. I talk about Conan Doyle and how he listened to and learned from Dr. Joseph Bell. The students are amazed that there were no modern tests or instruments back then.
The students in the seventh grade have read a play based on The Dying Detective and the eighth graders have read The Speckled Band before I go in to talk to them. We talk about each story and how Holmes’s deductive reasoning played into the whole plot. We talk about Watson and the relationship between Watson and Holmes. The students love to hear about some of the plots of the other stories, particularly The Hound of the Baskervilles.
For an hour, they are fascinated with the life of Conan Doyle, the history of Sherlock Holmes and life in 19th century England. Not a peep is heard when they hear about Sherlock Holmes’s "death" and his hiatus. They can’t imagine how Holmes could figure things out without a computer. They are amazed how many stories Conan Doyle wrote and the number of languages into which the Canon has been translated.
I think one of the things they like best is to see some of my collection of Sherlockian teddy bears and other paraphernalia. They love to see Wishbone in his deerstalker. They get a kick out of seeing Angelica (of Rugrats) in a deerstalker and roller skates. They enjoy looking at some of the stories in other languages.
Our school had a campaign to encourage the students to read. Pictures of the staff were taken with their favorite books or topics. Of course, the photo of me is in full Sherlockian regalia reading Sherlock Holmes. That photo will remain on display long after I have left the school so Sherlock Holmes will live on!
For me, talking to middle schoolers is a very rewarding experience. I love to share the joy of reading the stories and experiencing life as it was over a hundred years ago. It is wonderful to hear questions about the Canon and ACD. When the students ask about websites so they can find out more information, I know that the memory will continue to be green!
Jan died in 2005, leaving many Sherlockian friends to mourn her loss. Jan's memoriam appears on the ASH website.
(Published with permission from The Serpentine Muse, vol 19:3, summer 2003.)
With computers, TV, sports, and video games, it is very difficult to interest middle school youngsters in reading or academics. It is indeed a delight to see them become interested in Sherlock Holmes and the 19th century.
For the past 10 years, I have been visiting seventh and eighth grade classrooms dressed in Inverness cape and deerstalker, carrying a calabash and a magnifying glass. As soon as I enter the classroom, you can hear a pin drop. As I go around the room making deductions about certain students à la Sherlock Holmes, I can hear some giggles, but most of the class is enthralled. I talk about Conan Doyle and how he listened to and learned from Dr. Joseph Bell. The students are amazed that there were no modern tests or instruments back then.
The students in the seventh grade have read a play based on The Dying Detective and the eighth graders have read The Speckled Band before I go in to talk to them. We talk about each story and how Holmes’s deductive reasoning played into the whole plot. We talk about Watson and the relationship between Watson and Holmes. The students love to hear about some of the plots of the other stories, particularly The Hound of the Baskervilles.
For an hour, they are fascinated with the life of Conan Doyle, the history of Sherlock Holmes and life in 19th century England. Not a peep is heard when they hear about Sherlock Holmes’s "death" and his hiatus. They can’t imagine how Holmes could figure things out without a computer. They are amazed how many stories Conan Doyle wrote and the number of languages into which the Canon has been translated.
I think one of the things they like best is to see some of my collection of Sherlockian teddy bears and other paraphernalia. They love to see Wishbone in his deerstalker. They get a kick out of seeing Angelica (of Rugrats) in a deerstalker and roller skates. They enjoy looking at some of the stories in other languages.
Our school had a campaign to encourage the students to read. Pictures of the staff were taken with their favorite books or topics. Of course, the photo of me is in full Sherlockian regalia reading Sherlock Holmes. That photo will remain on display long after I have left the school so Sherlock Holmes will live on!
For me, talking to middle schoolers is a very rewarding experience. I love to share the joy of reading the stories and experiencing life as it was over a hundred years ago. It is wonderful to hear questions about the Canon and ACD. When the students ask about websites so they can find out more information, I know that the memory will continue to be green!
Jan died in 2005, leaving many Sherlockian friends to mourn her loss. Jan's memoriam appears on the ASH website.
Being Sherlock Holmes
Preparation for a visit
Visiting Schools in Costume
Publicity and Photo Opportunities
Ideas for Classroom Show and Tell
Things to Talk About
Preparation for a visit
- Students should be familiar with the character. Teachers can have students:
Visiting Schools in Costume
- Inverness cape and deerstalker cap
- Pipe and magnifying glass
Publicity and Photo Opportunities
- Give interviews for student paper
- Pose with students for photos
- Appear with campaigns to encourage students to read
- Meet with school or library officials for newsletter
- Celebrate Holmes' birthday (Jan 6) or another event by appearing with a detective from the local police force
Ideas for Classroom Show and Tell
- Items from your collection, especially toys (Don’t bring weapons!)
- Original Strand magazines (100 years old by now)
- Sherlock Holmes stories in other languages
- Explain each item in your costume (e.g. the actor William Gillette chose a calabash pipe so it wouldn’t hide his face)
Things to Talk About
- Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle and how he learned from Dr. Joseph Bell
- How many Sherlock Holmes stories Conan Doyle wrote and the number of languages into which the Canon has been translated
- Dr. John Watson and the relationship between Watson and Holmes.
- The lack of modern tests or scientific instruments 100 years ago
- Describe Sherlock Holmes’ "death" and his hiatus
- Mention some of the plots of the stories — girls might enjoy Irene Adler
- Go around the room and make Sherlockian deductions about some students
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