1. The History Teacher by Billy Collins
Presented by Emily Trotter

2. The Poet- Billy Collins
Born in 1941
Earned his Ph.D. in Literature at the University of California
Professor of English at Lehman College, City University of New York
2001- Appointed pot laureate of the United States
2004- Appointed state poet of New York
2004- Awarded Walt Whitman Citation of Merit

3. The Poem- “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins
Trying to protect his students’ innocence
he told them the Ice Age was really just
the Chilly Age, a period of a million years
when everyone had to wear sweaters
And the Stone Age became the Gravel Age,
named after the long driveways of the time.
The Spanish Inquisition was nothing more
than an outbreak of questions such as
“How far is it from here to Madrid?”
“What do you call a matador’s hat?”
The War of the Roses took place in a garden
and the Enola Gay dropped one tiny atom
on Japan.
The children would leave his classroom
for the playground to torment the weak
and the smart,
mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses,
while he gathered up his notes and walked home
past flower beds and white picket fences,
wondering if they would believe that soldiers
in the Boer War told long, rambling stories
designed to make the enemy nod off.

4. Use of Enjambment
Enjambment is very apparent in “The History Teacher”…
Line 1 ends with the word ‘innocence,’ which is the main theme of the poem
Line 7 ends with the word ‘more,’ emphasizing the fact that there is much more to the lessons that this teacher is leaving out
Line 15 ends with the word ‘weak’ and line 16 ends with the word ‘smart.’ These adjectives have been placed at the end of two lines next to each other to be compared
The poem is ended with “rambling stories / designed to make the enemy nod off.” This is placed at the end of the poem as a direct comparison between history lessons and horribly boring stories

5. Historical Events Referenced To…
The Ice Age: “the Chilly Age, a period of a million years when everyone had to wear sweaters.”
The Stone Age: “the Gravel Age, named after the long driveways of the time.”
The Spanish Inquisition: “an outbreak of questions such as ‘How far is it to Madrid?’”
War of the Roses: “took place in a garden”
The Enola Gay: “dropped one tiny atom on Japan.”