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10 Questions with Anna Caponetti, English teacher

February 11, 2014

Why do you think many McLean alumni come back as teachers?
I think a lot of it has to do with the family here. They have roots in the community, and they’re comfortable in the area, but also I’d have to say that this school has an identity and a community that provides security and familiarity. McLean is really a fantastic school. It’s not that 1980s, clique-forming, John Hughes movie experience. Life is not nightmare-ish if you’re not deemed popular. Kids here are by and large smart, motivated, and respectful, too.
When and what got you interested in teaching English?
Having really good English teachers got me interested in both the subject and the idea of teaching. I have to give a shoutout to Mr. Munaker. He was my eleventh grade english teacher. He got me really interested in analysis and unlocking the meaning of a text almost as if it’s a mystery to be solved and gave me the idea that there was a pseudo scientific method to go about the process. You can find the answers yourself, as opposed to finding the answer in the back of a textbook.
If you could do something else for a living for a year, what would it be and why?
If I could do something else for a living where I didn’t have to worry about financial stability, I would be a writer and an artist. My biggest talent and hobby is visual art, but I’m much more interested in literature, so I’d potentially want to have a job where both overlap.
Describe a place where you’re perfectly content.
When I’m hanging out with my family, wherever it is, I’d be perfectly content, especially with my dad. We’ve settled into a routine of whenever I visit him in Santa Fe, we’d just sit and watch British television, do crosswords and all of the sudden become 85-year-old men. We’re totally unashamed of it.
Favorite book?
My favorite book to study would be the Canterbury Tales. It’s just funny and there’s a timeless quality to it. And I’ve been always interested in the Middle Ages and beyond that. I also really enjoy Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials series. I love fantasy.
Brag about your children!
My 3-month-old daughter Annika, which we shorten as Anni, has a personality which is manifested. She smiles so easily and already recognizes faces and smiles if she sees you. She loves to laugh and has a very expressive face.
We named my three-year-old son after Superman, Kal-El. Thank goodness that he’s a big strapping boy, very muscular and tall. He loves cars and school buses. He’s an absent-minded, mellow, and in-his-own-world chap and, in a gentlemanly way, resists his older sister’s merciless bossing. They’re perfect in their dissimilarity.
My eldest daughter Thea is incredibly precocious, curious, vivacious, and a people-pleaser. She got really into karate which she takes very seriously. She just got her white belt. Even though she just started a couple of weeks ago, she broke a board on her first class. Karate has to do with self-discipline and behavior, and she loves that Karate has become an overarching philosophy in her life.
Salty or sweet? And your favorite snacks?
Salty, all the way. But of course, if you can pack the punch of both salty and sweet, salted caramel kettle corn or chocolate covered pretzels, that’s just the Holy Grail.
Preferred genre of music to listen to?
Classic rock, and by classic rock I mean that from the 60s and the 70s. My husband got me to listen to the 80s recently. My dad is an Old Soul, so we had an LP growing up as opposed to a CD player or a cassette player and listened to all my dad’s LPs. My absolute favorite is Bob Dylan. I think he the genesis of all modern music.
What’s your worst fear?
I’m afraid of being inside a house when it’s burgled or being robbed into. I had an experience when I was dog-sitting in Great Falls in a mansion with a security system. It was lovely but big, quiet, out in the woods, and in the middle of nowhere. One night around 3 o’clock the alarm went off. I was freaked out a bit. It’s still unresolved as to what happened there.
Would you rather only be able to whisper or only be able to shout? Why?
Shout. I feel like I spend most of my life shouting anyway. I have no concept of my own volume. I get emails home from school saying that Thea needs to use her indoor voice. It’s a cultural thing; we’re an Italian Jewish family from New York. We’re loud and adamant. I told my dad about the emails and he’s like, “So what? I’m loud and adamant. That’s a good thing!”

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