English Honors Theses

Date of Creation

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Departmental Honors Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Oliver de la Paz

Abstract

On Returning to my Elementary School During the Apocalypse is a study in returning to the spaces that have shaped us. Rooted in the speaker's childhood experiences of her elementary schooling, catapulted by her return to such spaces as a substitute teacher in her twenties, and propelled by a greater call towards the teaching profession, On Returning to My Elementary School During the Apocalypse contemplates the value and the quiet persistence of such foundational spaces amidst the noise and destruction of the apocalypse of education.

This collection of poems is divided into three sections, unraveling this experience of returning and becoming. The speaker first unpacks the contents of her old classrooms, recalling the first sparkles of identity formation, her early love for reading, and immersion into the French language, now upwards of seventeen years later (“Quand je serai grande, je serai maîtresse”). Grounded in a natural ecosystem of imagery, the speaker then struggles through the season of winter with sentiments of uncertainty, inadequacy, and fear as she continues to substitute teach, finding solace in the dependable nature of the school year and the ever-advertised growth mindset (“Baby teacher”). As the apocalypse draws nearer, the speaker eventually returns to these cornerstone educational experiences to face these fears, while not necessarily to eradicate, understanding the immense and sacred value of these experiences, but rather to overcome (“Are you going to third grade, too?” “Yes, I’m so excited.”).

This collection does not work to solve the problem of the apocalypse, but rather provides a weapon we can use to combat it, found in the rubble, fifteen years old.

Comments

Readers: Susan Elizabeth Sweeney; Jeremy T. Murphy; Lauren Capotosto

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Available for download on Saturday, May 15, 2027

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