Welcome to C-ville

Dear Blog Readers,
I want to start with an apology. Sorry for the delayed posting. I arrived in Charlottesville Monday morning, and I more or less hit the ground running.

As this is my inaugural post, I thought I might need to structure it a little so as to cover all the basics. For my students out there, this set up might seem reminiscent of some outlining we've done this year (humor me!):


I.Introduction: Welcome to the blog.
A. Apology
B. Set-up


II. A little about me.
A. Who am I?
B. What am I doing this summer?


III. Charlottesville/UVA
A. Some history


IV. Conclusion: Come back and see us sometime!

Welcome to the blog! I am really excited about this. Though I read a number of blogs and online periodicals, this is my first venture into the blogosphere. As you may have noticed, this blog is entitled "Footnotes." This is a little English/History joke. As you guys who are my students know, many people use the MLA rules for citations. When you get into higher academic work, you have a few more choices depending on your field of interest. Generally, English papers still use MLA formatting. History, however, uses something called the Chicago-style. With the Chicago-style, you cite not in-text but in foot or end notes. As this blog will hopefully work to cite and source all of the fun and learning I will do this summer, I think the name fits. Overall, my overarching goal for this blog is to illustrate some really exciting academic pursuits out there for those interested. I also want to use this to keep up with my colleagues and former students. Again, apologies for the delayed post, and I also promise that future posts will be a little more exciting than this one...

So, who am I? Currently, I am an English teacher at Rabun Gap, and I am so excited about coming back next year! I teach eighth grade English and Upper School American Literature (11-12 graders). In the winter, I am also an assistant swim coach, and I live (when in Georgia) in Anderson Dorm.

In 2008, I graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History and English. This summer, I am back in Charlottesville working as a research/editorial assistant for a few professors in the Corcoran History Department as well as volunteering at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. Basically, that means that my job description is reaaaaaaaaaaalllly fluid. It could include anything from hunting for source material for professors to updating websites to reading and summarizing texts. In all, it's a great job for anyone who loves history, digging through archives and reading. Namely, me.

Though I love Rabun Gap and I miss the lower Blue Ridge mountains, Charlottesville is near and dear to my heart because it was my home for four years. That is one of the reasons I'm back! For those of you haven't been to Charlottesville, it's a great place. Not only is it the home of my beloved Wahoos (one of the names for UVA's mascot, though we are officially the Cavaliers), but it is also the home of Thomas Jefferson. Actually, Thomas Jefferson was the founder of the University. Here, we call him Mr. Jefferson. UVA lore goes that Jefferson hated his alma mater William and Mary so much that, when he decided to create a university, he made it as different from the college in Williamsburg as possible. Personally, I don't really know why Jefferson would hate William and Mary. Regardless, in the early 1800s, Jefferson purchased land from his buddy James Monroe. Jefferson's basic idea for the school was to have an "academical (He made this word up, and it is something UVA students often quote.) village." Basically, at that time, the center of your town would be the church, in Jefferson's village the library, the Rotunda, would be the center. From there, he had teaching pavillions and rooms for rent for students. All of these buildings faced inwards to the Rotunda. This area is called the Lawn. When students came to the school for commencement, they faced the Rotunda. When they graduated, their chairs would be turned out into the world, or so Jefferson said.

Jefferson was very involved in the construction of the school. He could actually see the school from his house with a telescope, and he would spend a great deal of time watching construction. Moreover, he actually designed each of the buildings and accompanying gardens for the Lawn. In fact, when Jefferson eventually died, he was in huge debt due to the constuction of the school. Speaking of which, another story we tell around here is that three days before he died, Thomas Jefferson rode down from his house named Monticello, pulled a chair from one of the residence halls and sat in the middle of the Lawn-- sat there and stared out into the mountains. He stayed like this for about three hours. Finally got up and left. People say that he knew he was going to pass, and he wanted to spend his last moments in the place he loved best. Whatever the reason, when designing his tombstone, Jefferson famously wrote that he wanted to be remembered for founding UVA, writing the DOI and creating the Virginia religious statute.

Okay, back to the books... more later! Please read and comment. I would love to hear from ya'll!!!

Miss P