Rick Casey of the Houston Chronicle on Call the heat on Fahrenheit 451:
Fahrenheit 451 is a great vehicle for getting budding minds to think about and discuss civic values. But few teachers have taught it as creatively as Norton did.
She and the students discussed some of the themes as they were making their way through the book, but on the day set aside for the final discussion they were interrupted.
Without so much as a knock on the door the assistant principal and a uniformed policewoman stormed into the classroom.
While the assistant principal chewed Norton out for assigning this book, a book that celebrates quiet rebellion, the policewoman demanded that the students turn in their copies.
Stunned, they meekly handed over the books.
Then the assistant principal instructed Norton to step outside, leaving the class under the supervision of a college intern. At first the students sat silent. Then they began buzzing, and the intern invited them to talk about what had just happened.
“They were scared and they were upset,” Norton would recall later.
But before they proceeded far into the discussion, the classroom door reopened. As Norton and the assistant principal held back, the policewoman walked to the front of the classroom and waited for the students to quiet down. It didn’t take long until the room was silent.
Then this uniformed officer chewed out those young teenagers for giving up their books so easily.
An interesting approach to teaching one of my favorite books. Well done Ms. Norton.
[goodreviews isbn=”9780007491568″]