Do you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into? I don’t think you have because I didn’t realize when I was sitting in your place almost exactly one year ago to this day. But, hey, I turned out awight. I survived and that means you can too.

Ok, there are some things you have to know first. Listen to this woman. Sure she looks short and a little cooky in head, but looks can be deceiving. You may even think she has bad taste in literature, but don’t worry about that because some of this stuff is actually required by the state to be taught. If you actually take the time to read and appreciate some of her literature, you could learn something you didn’t know before. Take Clark seriously. No joke. She’s bad to the bone, until the last couple weeks of school and then she’s nice. Believe me, it was worth the whole year just to get to that point. She has some really great stories to tell you. Ask about the hickey story, carpet rakers, the honeymoon story, the RISK story, and the "kissing lesson" from last year. She’ll know exactly what you’re talking about. Don’t be afraid to persist if she refuses to tell you at once. She’ll tell you eventually.

What can you expect from this class? Hard work and sacrifice. That’s about it. Mrs. Clark is going to take you through Faulkner, Thoreau, and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. When you get to that point you have to tell her to bring me in and teach you the Scarlet Letter Equation. It’s too complicated for her to understand, I have to come in and teach it too you. It’s really interesting and it works. Next you get to explore poetry, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, and a novel from the Harlem Renaissance. Slap in a couple of the biggest, baddest, hardest research papers you will see in your high school career and you have yourself a full year of this class. Do you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into? I hope so.

I want to leave you with something you can smile about, something you can wish and dream about. You can get an "A" out of Mrs. Clark. Be prepared, though. You’re finally going to have to earn that "A". It is not impossible to get an "A" on your first research paper or first semester. I did it. I think you can, too. Do not be intimidated by the almost immediate and never-ending workload. It will eventually go away (in the last two weeks of the year when Mrs. Clark is nice). And no matter what, realize that there are a lot of people who have gone before you and know the way. There are plenty of survivors out there. Don’t be afraid to come and talk to us. We want to hear it and laugh and relish in the fact that we’re already done and out of that class. It will be worth it. In the end, it will all be worth it. My best wishes go to you. I’m going to miss this class, but do not want to trade positions with you. There is hope. You can accomplish your goals, if you really want to reach them. Take it easy.

Best wishes,

Jeffrey M. Boyd