Author and Former TA Teacher Ken Cadow Visits English Class
January 10, 2024
Photo Credit: Alison Novak, et al. “From a Cabin in Norwich, School Principal Ken Cadow Wrote a Young Adult Novel Set in Vermont That’s Up for a National Book Award.” Seven Days, 14 November 2023. Accessed Jan. 5, 2024.
The following reflection was written by TA English Composition students Spencer Durkee, Layne Mullen, and Matthew Vivian.
On January 4, 2024 Ken Cadow, principal at Oxbow and author of Gather, a novel about a teenage Vermonter and his struggles, visited Ms. Silver’s English Composition class. The book was one of the finalists for the National Book Award in the category of Young People’s Literature.
Mr. Cadow was greeted by eight juniors and seniors who were fascinated by his book. They had questions for Mr. Cadow; some were about the book and a couple were about his life. These questions included things like “What was the inspiration for the book?” “What town would this book most likely represent in Vermont?” “Do you feel that your position as a principal, or history as an educator, has given you a better understanding of the main character’s experiences? Could you have written the story without your history in education?”
Mr. Cadow spoke with the class for just under an hour. Owen Bicknell really liked how Mr. Cadow’s responses were “very genuine and lengthy.” Alford Manning III appreciated how Mr. Cadow seemed to understand students better than most. The class especially appreciated hearing Mr. Cadow’s thoughts about ways to make school more meaningful for people, which is something his novel explores between the lines of the main character’s adventures and obstacles.