Mrs. Edelman’s English 10H class, in character as writers, artists, composers and philosophers of the Romantic Era, hosted the rest of the 10th grade at a Romantic Era Coffeehouse, complete with composer Ludwig Van Beethoven and artist Thomas Cole as baristas. 10H students were tasked with informing the audience about turn of the 19th century Romanticism in England and why it matters. They had to: Include a selection of Romantic poems, passages from novels, and paintings; Highlight the themes the Romantics were interested in; Showcase some of the literary techniques and art styles the Romantics liked; Connect the concerns of the Romantics to some modern concerns (like science and ethics, the environment, and alienation); Identify 21st century writers, thinkers, artists, and musicians that are the modern-day equivalent of the Romantics.

Students created PowerPoint presentations and videos that would be geared toward their public audience—their 10th grade classmates. Students from Mrs. Miller’s, Mrs. Shavelson’s and Mrs. Herman’s classes, all of whom had studied the Romantic era as well, were asked to meet with at least one artist, one writer and one philosopher and learn about that person’s life and craft, as well as that person’s overview of the Romantic Era, and then write a reflection about what they learned at the coffeehouse. 10H students were also happy to host Dr. Katz, Ms. Hoenig, Mr. Ehrlich, Dr. Master, Mrs. Silverman, Rabbi Fridman, Rabbi Blau, Mrs. Kopel, and Mrs. Seplowitz, who stopped by during their free periods to meet such luminaries as Alexandre Dumas, Eugene Delacroix, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, Percy, Mary Shelley and more.