The Year of Miss Agnes

"The ones who looked mean from the very first lasted the longest. It was the ones who smiled all the time and pretended to like everything who didn't last." 

Fred explains the challenges of finding a teacher for the village here by analyzing the types of teachers who have previously succeeded there. In describing the teachers using these two categories, she demonstrates the lack of good teaching the students have had. When Miss Agnes arrives, she manages to be both kind and effective—which, as this quote demonstrates, is a novelty for the students. Furthermore, she genuinely does like her students and being part of the village, as she shows when she returns at the end of the book, further differentiating her from these earlier teachers.

"I think she could tell I was still a little mixed up, because she said, 'The English that we speak in England sounds different from the way you speak English here. But it's the same language.' 'Oh, yeah,' I said, and this time I knew what she meant. Like how you can tell when someone is from Nulato or Hughes just because they say their words different." 

Although they are outside the classroom, at Miss Agnes's house, Fred's first lesson with Miss Agnes occurs as she asks about Miss Agnes's background and learns what England is. Although she does not understand at first, Fred comes to comprehend why Miss Agnes has an accent through Miss Agnes's careful explanations. In addition, Miss Agnes's explanations help Fred to draw an analogy between a situation she is already familiar with and this new situation, applying her learning in a more complex way. This foreshadows Miss Agnes's skill as a teacher, as well as Fred's intelligence and empathy. 

"Desks in a circle looked like more fun someway. And a teacher's desk in the corner looked more friendly like, too. Everything was different, but good different." 

Even though the changes Miss Agnes has made to the classroom are primarily superficial in Chapter 3, they nevertheless create an atmosphere that excites the students. Here, Fred shows the effect that even seemingly small physical changes in the learning environment have had on her. The classroom here also serves to symbolize Miss Agnes herself—she is different than previous teachers, but good different.

"Mamma thinks working hard is what everyone's supposed to do, and so she thinks school is just a waste of time." 

As Fred analyzes her mother, she not only provides insight into her mother's character, but also shows her emotional intelligence. She considers why her mother has different attitudes towards school and education, coming to the conclusion that her mother prefers to "work hard"—indicating that her mother does not see learning as work. This sets up tension between Fred and her mother as well as her mother and Miss Agnes, which the book resolves as Mamma sees the benefits that learning brings to her family.

"It was no fun trying to get this teacher upset because it didn't look like she could be upset. Miss Agnes was different some way." 

While other teachers struggled to keep order in the school, Miss Agnes has a demeanor that makes it difficult for the children to misbehave. Her unflappability indicates that the children did not misbehave with other teachers because of something inherently disrespectful or naughty in their characters, but instead because they were trying to get a particular reaction out of their teachers. By remaining calm, Miss Agnes takes away the students’ desire to act out, creating a supportive classroom.

"We all put that flesh crayon by our hands and laughed because our skin and that crayon weren't anything like the same color. Even when we put it by Miss Agnes's hand it wasn't the same color. We didn't know who would have skin that color. Miss Agnes sort of snorted and said 'No one.'"

Miss Agnes takes a progressive approach to teaching, and this progressiveness is equally apparent in her attitudes towards different cultures. Her use of maps and stories encourages children to expand their view of the world, but, crucially, she never places more value on the outside world than the life of the village or suggests that one culture is superior to another. Her willingness to call out the ridiculousness of a single "flesh-colored" crayon (which, in fact, resembles nobody's flesh color) shows her open-mindedness. 

"I had never thought of people coming from anywhere before, and now I knew two new places. English and the boot." 

Although The Year of Miss Agnes describes numerous lessons with their teacher, Fred and the other children learn more from Miss Agnes than she teaches in any single lesson. Fred indicates that Miss Agnes builds upon the previous knowledge they have, helping expand their understanding incrementally. By the end of the year, they have a strong grounding in fundamental subjects, including geography. This quote shows that, even early in the school year, Miss Agnes's teaching methods had already begun to prove effective.

"You'd think it would make me mad to do that, but it made me glad. Like when my grandma makes me do something over and over till I get it right. I feel like she's going to make sure I learn it good, and so I don't feel mad." 

As Fred and the other students practice writing, they repeat drawing the same letters. While some might find this task frustrating, Fred explains that she nevertheless appreciates the discipline because she knows its ultimate effects will be positive. This demonstrates the efficacy of Miss Agnes's methods and the ways in which Miss Agnes encourages her students to think about their long-term goals.

"Little Pete and Roger got just excited, showing us where their trapline was, and where they set the blackfish trap, and where their dad shot the ear. It was so interesting, somehow, seeing it there on paper. I never saw the big boys so excited about anything in school." 

With other teachers, the "big boys" at school have misbehaved. Not only does Miss Agnes's demeanor encourage good behavior, but she also introduces subjects that appeal to each students' interests and abilities. Many students find the maps appealing, as they start thinking about the world beyond their village. However, Little Pete and Roger's interest also demonstrates the local benefit that Miss Agnes's approach to education has, as they are able to situate their own activities and their own lives in a broader context by studying the map of Alaska.

"So right there I made up my mind I was going to get good at this number stuff." 

Fred has always struggled with arithmetic and initially wonders how even Miss Agnes will be able to make her interested in it. Miss Agnes's approach to arithmetic differs from her approach to other subjects, in that she provides a story about the dangers of not learning math to serve as a warning rather than trying to develop students' interest in math for its own sake. Her approach inspires Fred, who does not want to let herself be taken advantage of later in life, and thus Miss Agnes encourages her and the other students to apply themselves to arithmetic study.

"When Mamma stamped out the door, Grandpa lit his old pipe, and then he pointed it at me and said real crabby, 'Your mamma had a hard life, you know. It's hard to have a baby born deaf, and then your daddy got sick and went away and died. A hard-luck person like that could get kind of mean. You got to think about that.'"

Mamma initially seems like an unpleasant character: she doesn't appreciate the school and doesn't want Bokko to attend. However, as she views the benefits that Miss Agnes's teaching style brings to her daughters, she gradually comes around. At the same time, as Fred's year with Miss Agnes progresses, she learns to better understand her mother's motivations. In this exchange with her grandfather, Fred hears her mother's challenges—rather than her challenging behaviors—explained for the first time.

"Here we used to think some things were so bad you just had to give in to them, like being deaf or blind, but now we were finding out that there's always something they've thought of to help people like that. It was hard to do, this sign language and blind reading, but it's better to kick some instead of just sinking."

One of Miss Agnes's great talents is in inspiring students to love learning on their own by introducing them to a particular text or example that sparks their curiosity. As they learn about sign language and Braille, Fred begins to understand that she can address all challenges with hard work. Previously, she'd followed her village's traditional way of thinking that some challenges could not be overcome, but Miss Agnes's introduction of sign language and Braille into the classroom shows that there is always a way to overcome obstacles, though it may require persistence.

"The next day Mamma wrapped up a loaf of her good bread in a towel and told us to take it to school for Miss Agnes."

Until Bokko is able to give her a compliment, Mamma remains unconvinced that attending school is the best course of action for her older daughter. By sending bread, Mamma demonstrates her appreciation for Miss Agnes, also acknowledging that her previous attitude was wrong. Throughout the novel, Mamma communicates her feelings primarily through her actions. 

"That was a good thing to think about, always learning something new. It wasn't like you had to hurry up and learn everything right away before the learning time was over, it was like you could kind of relax and take your time and enjoy it." 

As Miss Agnes's approach changes the way the children learn, Fred starts to realize that learning happens throughout one's life, not stopping once one leaves the classroom. Her grandfather exemplifies this, still hungry for knowledge, though his own schooldays are past. By understanding learning as a lifelong process, Fred feels less pressure in the moment, and can enjoy acquiring knowledge both within school and without it. This theme of lifelong learning appears throughout the novel and is a primary benefit of Miss Agnes's teaching method.

"When we had a dance, we'd go get Miss Agnes and she'd bring her squeeze box, and that way she could play and the guys who were doing the music could have a turn to dance. Boy, she knew some good ones, too, ones she never played us in school because they didn't have words to sing. They were just like Martin's songs, you couldn't sit still. But Miss Agnes would never dance. She'd just watch us and laugh." 

Although the children and villagers love and appreciate Miss Agnes, she still remains on the outside of their society to some extent, as the scenes at the community hall dances show. She attends the dances and enriches them with her music but does not dance with the townspeople. Hill implies that this sense of separateness may be what leads her to leave as planned at the end of the school year, but she comes back for the next year despite this, perhaps willing to participate and integrate more into the village.

"We used to think we were something, but then she told us all the things that were bigger than us, the universe and all that, and then all the things that were smaller. Too small to even see. So people were sort of in between, not big or small, just in between." 

Miss Agnes teaches the children about the different contexts in which they live: geographic, literary, and even scientific. By teaching them about scientific concepts on micro- and macro-scales, she helps them better understand themselves and their society, as well as the world as a whole. In this sense, her use of the microscope in the classroom mirrors her use of the map: both are tools for showing her students what surrounds them.

"I think that's why Jimmy didn't talk so much, because no one could figure out what he was talking about. Just Miss Agnes." 

Jimmy, like Bokko and Fred, feels seen and understood by Miss Agnes in a way he never did before: she pays attention to his interests and talents, and has enough education to encourage them in a way that is helpful to him. Similarly, she helps Bokko learn to communicate and express herself, and points out Fred's talent for observation and understanding to her. Although Miss Agnes has one approach for her class as a whole, she also works to understand each student as an individual with unique gifts. 

"To think there were flowers somewhere right now, while we were here in the snow." 

At her first meeting with Miss Agnes, Fred learns that England is a country. As her relationship with Miss Agnes grows, so too does her understanding of other places in the world. Fred sees slides of England, hears English music, and encounters English stories. Finally, she is able to imagine a country entirely different from the one she has experienced, showing her imaginative and empathetic side.

"When you read those books, it was kind of embarrassing. 'Look, look, look. See Spot run.' They talked kind of stupid like that." 

Miss Agnes revolutionizes her classroom in part by changing the traditional materials. The Dick and Jane books show why some of these earlier materials were ineffective; they seem basic and condescending to Fred. When Miss Agnes replaces them with individualized stories for each student, she again demonstrates her commitment to her class, as well as her understanding of what they need as a group and as unique people.

"Fred notices everything about everyone, what they say and do and look like. And what they're feeling. So she's good at writing stories."

Miss Agnes recognizes what is special about each child she works with. As she describes to them what makes them unique, she gives them the gift of being seen, showing them that they have something important to contribute to the world around them. Although this does not comprise part of her formal lessons, it nevertheless serves to inspire her students to learn and make the most of their gifts and abilities. Fred never directly discusses her desire to tell this story (The Year of Miss Agnes), yet Miss Agnes's words here provide background on why she may have chosen to narrate it.

"But Miss Agnes said there were lots of right ways to talk. What we talked in the village was right, she said. That's the way to talk here. And when we talk in Athabascan, that's the right way, too. But there's another way to talk, and that's what we want to talk when we go to the city or go away to school, and that's what she said she was going to teach us." 

Miss Agnes is an outsider visiting a native village; because of this, the villagers (and, indeed, the reader) may anticipate a colonial-type story in which she attempts to enforce her customs and beliefs on a native population. However, Miss Agnes is careful never to do this. Instead, she shows the value of native customs and ways of speaking, while showing the separate benefit of learning standard American English. Her approach inspires her students to learn without shaming them or placing more value on an outside culture.

"Before Miss Agnes came, we didn't know people like us could learn that much and could be a doctor. It was in my head then, that I could do something really big." 

Miss Agnes works throughout the year to expand her students' view of the world and what is possible for their lives. She does this through several strategies, the most visible in the book being her use of maps and her use of stories. As Fred listens to Miss Agnes reading, she begins to have ambitions outside the village for her future. Although she does not explain what she foresaw for her life before Miss Agnes came, her explanation that she does not want marriage and children implies that she previously saw that pathway as her primary option.

"There would be another teacher next year. Maybe a nice one, even. But never the same as Miss Agnes." 

As Miss Agnes leaves, Fred comes to realize exactly why Miss Agnes is so special. She is nice, and she is effective. At the same time, she also has a talent for understanding her students and expanding their view of the world around them and how they fit into it. Miss Agnes is also a uniquely talented individual, which makes her departure all the harder for Fred and the other children in her class.