Beth Gilmer: Literature is her favorite

Longtime English teacher Beth Gilmer, a graduate of Hamilton High School in Hamilton, has long been a lover of literature and finds herself at home teaching at Russellville High School. She’s now in her 30th year of teaching.

It’s a passion decades in the making, inspired by those she’s met along the way, especially one particular teacher.

“When I was in high school, I loved English classes, but I had a teacher in 11th and 12th grade, Ruth Palmer, and she really inspired me to want to become an English teacher,” said Gilmer. “She had a special love of literature, and I loved reading. I wanted to be like that. She was a really good writing instructor as well.”

Literature, writing and poetry are important parts of what Gilmer teaches.

“I love teaching literature and poetry,” Gilmer said, noting her students sometimes struggle with making thematic connections to pieces of literature, as well as with tone. She likes to combine things where it makes sense in order to help improve student understanding.

When asked if she has a favorite poem, Gilmer said trying to choose one would be like trying to choose a favorite child, but notes her students are quick to point out she’s a “fan girl for William Shakespeare, especially his sonnets.” She explained what she loves about them is the “complexity and word play.”

“I used to write quite a bit of poetry,” Gilmer said. “I had a fleeting dream of becoming a songwriter someday when I ‘grow up.’” She said teaching literature is probably her favorite part of her job.

‘I also enjoy trying to get students ready to think and to be able to synthesize information so they can succeed when they start taking courses in college,” she said. “There’s a formula you have to know in order to write a good paper, and there are things about it you need to be able to do. Grammar instruction is part of teaching English, and I love it.”

One special tradition is teaching about a Victorian play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” written by Oscar Wilde, and set in England.

“The Victorians had quite proper manners,” Gilmer explained, “and so we kind of learn a little bit about the manners of the Victorian Age and then we have a tea party. My students are usually reading choice novels in literature circles and meet once a week to talk about their books.”

She explained they combine the tea party with the lit circles and have a Victoria tea. Gilmer brings China, and the students bring foods, and together they decorate to make the experience extra special.

Gilmer said she enjoys seeing students get more comfortable with poetry.

“I love to see light bulbs go off when students make progress in this area, and they may not get to the point to where they love poetry as I do, but they at least understand it and they can take a very difficult poem and draw meaning and inspiration from it.”

Gilmer explained she likes getting her students to the point where they can analyze things and really go beyond the surface, to “really dig deep” and get to the things that are important.

“I like helping others have an easy transition into what they’re planning to do next, whatever that is,” she added.

She said it’s always wonderful to hear from former students, noting she has several who have told her that her helping them learn how to write helped them succeed, not just in their college courses, but also in their careers.

“I’ve got a few students whose careers have required quite a bit of writing – a few attorneys and things like that, and they’ve told me that they are good writers because of how I taught them,” Gilmer continued, “and that always makes me feel like I did something right. I think back all the time to Mrs. Palmer, and I credit her all the time with who I became. It’s really nice to know maybe at least a bit of my teaching helped them to succeed, that really does mean a lot.”

Gilmer said her help made the transition from high school to college easier because of how well she was prepared as a result of that teacher’s approach.

Gilmer graduated high school and got married in September of the same year. For two years, she attended what was then called Northwest Junior College (NWSCC) in Phil Campbell. She stopped for a while to help put her husband through college and to have their first child.

“After my husband graduated from college, he got his first teaching job at Curry High School,” Gilmer said, so we moved to that area, and I went to the University of Alabama in Birmingham for a couple of semesters. After three years at Curry, we moved to Russellville to live in 1993.”

At that point, Gilmer was still in school and transferred to Athens, finishing her bachelor’s degree at Athens State University, where she graduated the following year, also working as a substitute in Russellville. That fall, 1995, she got her first teaching job in Russellville. After teaching for a couple of years, she went to UNA to get a master’s degree.

“When I first started teaching, I taught freshmen and juniors, and that’s what I did for a few years,” Gilmer said. “I’ve taught grades seven through 12. We left one year and went to Winfield, then I came back to Russellville. Most recently, I’ve taught seniors. I teach Advanced Placement literature and occasionally standard 12th grade English. I have also taught creative writing, when that was an option in the past.”

Gilmer said although she spends her time teaching her students, she learns from them as well. When asked what sticks out about what she’s learned from them, she said one of the best things they’ve taught her is to have fun with learning.

Gilmer said it can get tedious for students because there’s a structure with finite rules, but that once they learn them, they can use them well and make a lot more progress with what they are writing.

“Having approaches that keep the students engaged while learning important rules is helpful because it keeps them laughing and having fun while they learn. We have fun while we learn, and I’m honored to be there with them to help them grow and learn and find joy and understanding they maybe didn’t have before.”