Have you ever wondered what your teachers do in their free time? Think they relax at the spa after a long day of grading papers and telling their students they won’t round their 60% average to a 5.5 (even if it is right before parent-teacher conferences)? Maybe they are at home watching Netflix? Sleeping?

Kids lucky enough to have Breakfast Club on Saturday morning will have the answer: they spend free time discussing literature. Yes, that is correct, discussing literature, bright and early at 8:00 in the morning. But not just any literature–specifically, Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey. All thanks to the wonderful and brilliant Mr. McDonough, teachers have the opportunity to discuss The Odyssey with their colleagues.  

When asked what the newly formed Odyssey Reading Group was all about, Mr. McDonough explains that “it’s a chance for faculty to discuss a work of literature together, something we don’t often have the opportunity to do outside of class.” He also describes that there are twenty teachers involved, and the most loyal attendees are Ms. Gogola, Mrs. Moreno, and Ms. Prickett.    

The reason Mr. McDonough chose The Odyssey is because it gives teachers the opportunity to talk about a work of literature that most of their students, if they came into Kent as a 3rd Former, have read. He also expresses, “It gives teachers across all disciplines a chance to read and discuss a book that is a foundational text for our students.”

Whether they teach Math or English, the Reading Group gives teachers the opportunity to dive into a fantastic work of literature.