Tales of a Teacher
by Eva Jacob Barkoff, contributing writer
Book, written in verse, captures memories of decades in the classroom.
The path to becoming a lifelong educator wasn’t always apparent for Pat Austin, PhD. While studying for a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Agnes Scott College in Georgia, something changed.
“I knew from a very young age that one thing I never wanted to be was a teacher,” Austin said. “I didn’t love school. But what, after all, do you do with a philosophy major?
“During my undergrad years, I volunteered in several capacities that led me to consider teaching. I assisted in a classroom with special needs students, taught reading to an adult, and taught arts and crafts one summer. All that, and falling in love with the field of epistemology (the theory of knowledge) in my philosophy coursework, is what led me to the profession I became passionate about — teaching.”
Austin’s 46 years in education are captured in her book Tales from a Teaching Life: Vignettes in Verse. Each chapter contains detailed memories, written in verse, about Austin’s expansive career from teaching students in elementary, high school and college in Georgia, Mississippi and eventually, Louisiana.
Experiences from amusing to devastating
In Louisiana, Austin taught at several schools including Arabi Elementary in St. Bernard; Hazel Park Elementary and Clancy Elementary in Jefferson Parish; Carver Junior High in New Orleans; Tulane University; and the University of New Orleans.
The book, as Austin explained, “is a chronological approach to my story as a teacher.”
“This approach made the most sense to me,” Austin explained. “I’ve written poems all my life — often as many people do as a therapeutic process. I began writing poems about my teaching life in 2019 and worked on it for a couple of years. I was writing it in verse just for me. When I shared this with some of my former students, they encouraged me to consider writing for a larger audience.”
One of Austin’s humorous memories in the book describes when she told her students at Carver Junior High she was leaving to take a position at Tulane University.
“It wasn’t easy telling my Carver kids I wouldn’t be returning come fall. ‘I’ll be teaching at the university,’ I said. Clinging as they did to stereotypical images of white-haired professors, they promptly told me, ‘You’re not old enough.’”
Another entry entitled “Sobering Moments” is a vignette about the day of the Challenger space disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. All seven crew members died, including teacher Christa McAuliffe. Austin, at that time, was on the faculty of Clancy Elementary. She writes, in part, “Outside my classroom, the principal wept as she spread the news of the Challenger space disaster. Our little world exploded with Christa McAuliffe. She was one of us, a teacher. When disasters hit close to home they hit harder.”
A focus on children's literature
Austin has a Master of Arts in teaching from the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from UNO. And it is at UNO where she would spend 26 years as a professor of children’s literature.
“I never expected to write this book,” Austin said. “I knew though that I wanted to capture my memories, especially those highlights that have become family lore and those stories from my years as an elementary school teacher that I shared with future teachers I worked with at UNO.”
Austin has also authored a picture book entitled The Cat Who Loved Mozart and a collection of poetry for children that explores emotions called Elephant of Sadness, Butterfly of Joy.
Austin retired from UNO in 2020 but you can still find her as the school’s curator of the Children’s and Young Adult Library, a role she has held for 25 years.
A book signing was held May 4 at Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St. in New Orleans, just in time for this week’s Teacher Appreciate Week which concludes May 10. And Austin hopes her book will “encourage other teachers to write their own stories.
“I hope that through this book, educators see themselves,” Austin said. “Teaching is a really tough profession, engaging with so many lives day after day, worrying about your students who may be going through rough times, wanting to reach each student to engage them so they become lifelong learners.
“Teaching is all consuming, if you let it be, and it’s hard not to let it if you love what you do. You have to love your students and be passionate about what you do.”
(Photo by Chris Granger The Times-Picayune)