“I really do think human beings are fundamentally meant to create things,” English teacher Ms. Emily Harnett said. “If everybody just at least once had an experience of trying to say something and feeling like you actually succeeded in spite of yourself, I think people would have more passion for learning because learning is sort of the beginning of any creative process.”
Sixth Formers read one of Ms. Harnett’s published essays, “Death and Emojis,” in English IV and English IV* classes. The essay is a natural fit in the courses’ themes of identity, legacy, and existentialism. It’s also an example of a multi-faceted narrative form, new to many Haverford students.
“Ms. Harnett’s piece is really doing the kind of writing that we want English students to aspire to, which is not just writing analysis of a piece of literature, not just writing about themselves, but combining all of those skills and doing all of it at once,” English Department Chair Ms. Taylor Smith-Kan said. “It’s a way more mature form of writing.”
In addition to introducing a different style, discussing a piece with the complexity and depth of “Death and Emojis,” while also acknowledging personal connections with the author, provides an opportunity for students to push their thinking.
“Why does it speak to us? What is the subtext and what is the message being revealed?” Ms. Smith-Kan asks.
“Death and Emojis” is deeply personal. It discusses the passing of Ms. Harnett’s father, his grieving process, and her thoughts on grief and self-expression.
“Death and Emojis” is deeply personal. It discusses the passing of Ms. Harnett’s father, his grieving process, and her thoughts on grief and self-expression.
“One of the comments that a student in my class this year made was just it’s so weird that Ms. Harnett is so dark in this, because she’s so fun and happy normally,” Ms. Smith-Kan said. That expression allowed Ms. Smith-Kan to highlight one of the benefits of reading the work of Ms. Harnett—or anyone one knows personally. “People have depth,” Ms. Smith-Kan said. “People are not one-dimensional.”
Ms. Harnett’s position provides English IV students a unique opportunity not only to know their author, but also to gain direct access to her. She visited two English IV* classes to discuss her literary choices and her writing process.
“Whenever you all have a chance to talk to somebody who’s an expert in their area, I think it’s a great experience,” English IV* teacher Mr. Anthony Pariano said. “We all are a part of this exceptional place where people do exceptional things. Acknowledging that is really important.”
Mr. Pariano referred to Ms. Harnett as “Harnett” in classes, giving her the same recognition as other authors in the curriculum.
“She’s a serious author,” he said. “It didn’t seem right to refer to her otherwise. The work is so good that it makes it easy to compartmentalize those two parts of her.”
Although Mr. Pariano saw value in Ms. Harnett’s interaction with students, he also acknowledged that it was most important to ensure that Ms. Harnett was comfortable with the scenario. The intimate details shared in “Death and Emojis” are not necessarily those that a teacher frequently shares with students.
Ms. Harnett was excited to connect with students over her work.
“At the end of the day, you write things in the hopes that they’ll be read,” she said. “If you write it and you publish it, you’re making an appeal for people’s attention. You’re saying that you think your work is worthy of that attention…And so if more people are reading it, that’s awesome.”
Rather than feeling discomfort with the window students had into her private life, Ms. Harnett appreciates her work’s ability to foster new learning experiences.
“It does happen a couple times every year where a kid I used to teach will read that essay, and it will be helpful for him in thinking through something that he wants to do in one of his English-class essays,” she said. “That’s what my writing in this context should be. It should be something useful for you guys.”
Ms. Harnett’s visit to Mr. Pariano’s classes did not focus solely on the content of “Death and Emojis.”
“I think students were much more interested in [Ms. Harnett’s] life as a writer, and the process,” Mr. Pariano said.
To the fledgling upper school writer, “Death and Emojis”—and Ms. Harnett’s other published work—can serve as a promise of possibility.
“Being published was just a great experience,” Ms. Harnett said. “It was so thrilling and so confirming, and I just want every student to know that that feeling is available to them if they try hard enough and they care. They would live rich and fulfilling lives if they made room for that feeling.”
