Friday thing : candle

Specifically, one that will burn down the White House.

Once upon a time, I taught high school English & US History.¹ Like any good nerd teacher, I liked to collect all kinds of paraphenalia for my classroom that was fun but also educational - the American Library Association’s READ posters with famous people²³ were a good start, Thomas Wimberly VOTE prints even better; I also had a Women in Literature ruler and a historical timeline folding yardstick; a portrait of Frederick Douglass created from the text of his autobiography gazed from a bulletin board; a paper stand-in for a cloth flag poised at the front of my room, made from the words of our Declaration of Independence. But one of my most enjoyable interactive pieces was one that I actually never used at school, mainly because it was forbidden by the fire marshall.

No students were harmed in the lighting of this candle. Or, the telling of this history.

When I shifted from teaching English to US History, my husband got me this genius War of 1812 candle at JD and Kate Industries. Actually, I found dozens of compelling little wax history lessons but there is only so much space for tchotchkes in a classroom (and in a typical teenager’s attention span, frankly).

Even when not aflame this candle has a strong scent, which they say is “woodsmoke” but to me smells more like “fancy cologne from T.J.Maxx.” Pro tip: concentrate more on the theme you like rather than the aroma descriptions. And maybe keep the lid on.

I especially appreciate the shout-out to this particular event because having the candle on display inspired questions and encouraged me to give a mini lesson during our discussion of colonial/revolutionary times, helping students see how our raggedy & unprepared new country rallied to prove its moxie in the world. It was, of course, also an(other) excellent example of how war-oriented the US was [and continues to be], and showed yet again Americans’ deplorable disregard for indigenous nations, regardless of how much they actually aided in the colonizer’s battles. So, making the candle smell like an old white dude with cheap aftershave might be the best possible choice.

---

Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers. - Tecumseh, Shawnee chief & warrior

---

1. Also occasionally electives like Drama (Ha - I’m dramatic but not in the Good On Stage way) and Technology (double Ha - one of my freshman Eng 9 students summed it up perfectly by walking into my room with furrowed brows on the first day of Tech asking, “What are YOU doing teaching this class?”). I did fine overall, though the ultimate takeaway really was Use Your Resources: I brought in real actors for Drama and in Tech, showed videos of people who actually worked with computers. Plus we watched Tron.

2. Please click that/this link - I don’t get any free posters (probably?) but the descriptions are an utterly catty delight.

3. My all-time fave is Coolio’s - it’s truly spectacular, and I sincerely hope he really did read & like Frankenstein.