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MAY 4, 2007 at 5:34 AM
Posted by CHEESER
Source: TwinCities.com
A Minnesota educator reminisces
about his days as a foreign student teacher in the UK, when 13-year-old Joanne Rowling herself was a pupil:
"I was contacted by the teachers in England who I had stayed with, and they told me that the Harry Potter author had gone to Wyedean at the same time I was there and perhaps I knew her," [Dale] Neuschwander said. "It had been a long time, but I went to the grade book that I kept from that time and when I saw the class that she was in and her grades, I remembered her."
It was easy for the teacher to remember his former pupil. Her writing shone.
"She got straight A's and A-pluses in creative writing," he said.
When Neuschwander wrote to Rowling in 2000 to congratulate her on publishing Harry Potter, the author wrote back and her handwritten letter (the contents of which are in the full article) now hangs on his wall.
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Student
Points: 286
HarryPotterNerdNumber1 says:
Obviously she's extremelly intelligent! She. Created. Harry. Potter. She's a genius! Yay! It's my first time being the first post! I love you JK!
Posted May 4, 2007 at 5:49 AM EST
Student
Points: 225
loyal2voldemort says:
I have no idea what to say. The person above me pretty much said it all.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 5:58 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2656
Grintster says:
Wow, of course! Like tell us something we don't know, haha! No surprise there :D
Posted May 4, 2007 at 6:23 AM EST
Wizard
Points: 688
Gryffindor's prefect says:
Who cant say she's not intellegnet??!! Absolutely NO ONE!! I mean she created somthing which in like seven years became popular among the world!! Other authors could probably do this in twenty years.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 6:52 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 2nd Class
Points: 1675
lissir10 says:
That's cool!!
and I would've guessed she had A+'s in creative writing..
haha it's sort of a given.. haha
Posted May 4, 2007 at 7:03 AM EST
Harry’s Egg, Dan’s Duck
Points: 4745
Pearl* says:
Awesome story! I'll sure read what she wrote back. It'd be interesting also to read her early work, and see some potter-esque elements forming perhaps.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 7:04 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1898
Woofer says:
Well nice to hear that the guy thinks she is inyelligent, but most of us had already figured that out years ago! To be able to create a world with so may characters and all other things in it, you have to be really intelligent.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 7:06 AM EST
Head Girl
Points: 439
bubblegum says:
AAwwwww i think that is so sweet i wish my teacher were nice l.o.l.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 7:32 AM EST
Lips of an Angel
Points: 26393
3.1415926535 says:
Well geez, you;d hope she was smart in school!!! ahaha!!! geez, it would have been hard to get smart out of school... well... there is uni i guess... and im RAMBLING!!! :P
Posted May 4, 2007 at 7:44 AM EST
Student
Points: 289
Yokata says:
But of course J.K. Rowling would achieve such spectacular grades! She would have to be mentally gifted in order to conceive a universe as elaborate as that she did with Harry Potter. :)
Posted May 4, 2007 at 7:50 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2218
Feelin' Felix Felicis says:
Well that doesn't surprise me! Jo Rowling is a brilliant writer - she's a genious! The fact that she replied to Mr. Neuschwander's letter with a hand written letter of her own shows a lot about her character!
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:18 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2218
Feelin' Felix Felicis says:
Thank you, Jo Rowling, for giving the world Harry Potter!!!
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:19 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2363
Nataly says:
A's and A-pluses? That explains a lot! ! heh:)
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:23 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2563
School Governor says:
I t is not surprising that she got such good grades at school, and nice of JKR to write back to her former teacher too.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:26 AM EST
Witch
Points: 673
Rupert's Fangirl says:
Well, no surprise there. Just looking at her writing and she's handled fame and fortune tells it all.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:39 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 4th Class
Points: 1348
~*Veela Grl *~ says:
It's cool to hear about her life leading up to Harry Potter and to find out she's always been good at writing. Let's just hope all that work paid off and book seven is amazing!
xoxo*^*amy*^*
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:43 AM EST
Mrs. Draco Malfoy
Points: 27909
Arika Granger Malfoy says:
WOW!
That is so cool! He is a lucky man...and yay JKR!!!!!
Hehe....That must have been awesome to know that he taught her.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 8:55 AM EST
Keeper of the Faeries
Points: 5256
juliebug04 says:
Well, of course she was and IS intelligent! :o) What a cool article, though.
Can't wait for July! :o)
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:21 AM EST
Witch
Points: 525
Draco'z Devil says:
Well you would expect a famous author to be good in english. wouldn't you?
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:28 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2081
kermittounette says:
Yeah I was sure that she would have been creative in her childish days, I bet we can expect more from her, and I can't wait to see what she has into the pen after the Potter series...
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:30 AM EST
Malfoy by Nature
Points: 12529
WickeDraco says:
No wonder. *laughs* Not that I expected any less than our fantastic idol. Well, good for her.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:35 AM EST
Student
Points: 236
JeffHodapp says:
What were her other grades? Did she ever play up the teachers? I bet she was a very nice little girl and sat in the front of the class. I got straight A's in everything but sat in the back because my family was poor and my parents were alcoholics. I came to school in hand me downs and the beatings at home showed. In America, it is a sin to be poor and the other kids and teachers never let you forget it.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:49 AM EST
Charms Mistress
(Moderator)
Points: 5268
Weesa says:
It's very nice that she wrote him back. Of course we already knew she's brilliant, just like Hermione.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:49 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 2nd Class
Points: 1647
Hermione's younger sister says:
I'll bet she did. I would so love to read her writing pieces. I also would have loved to have been one of her teachers, especially in a class like creative writing or something.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 9:51 AM EST
Order of Merlin, 3rd Class
Points: 1588
ravenbeaut says:
JKR making straight As is not that spectacular to me. Isn't it kind of expected that she'd do well in creative writing considering she grew up and became a creative writer??
What actually is amazing (read: fishy) is the fact that dude kept a grade book from his student teaching days, which HAS to be at least 20 years ago!
The whole thing seems kind of suspect to me. I'm not saying that he wasn't her teacher or anything, but I don't believe the whole "I looked in my gradebook" angle.
Posted May 4, 2007 at 10:18 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2913
Pema says:
*catches breath again*
I can't wait to read that! Wow!
Posted May 4, 2007 at 10:35 AM EST
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