Will the Real Mrs. Brown Please Stand Up?

Publication date: July, 2002

When I chose Mrs. Brown as the name for my teacher, "the field trip queen," who takes her classes to museums and historical sites in my upcoming poetry books, Mrs. Brown on Exhibit and The Revolutionary Mrs. Brown, I had a writer's reason for that choice. "Brown" is an easy name for a poet to rhyme. (And can you guess why I used Mrs. Brown rather than Miss Brown or Ms. Brown? For answer, see ** below.)

More importantly, I wanted a name that would represent the many fine real teachers out there. And, wow, did I pick a good one! I've found Mrs. Browns (and Mr. Browns, Miss Browns, and Ms. Browns) from coast to coast - and a nicer, livelier, funnier, more interesting and enthusiastic bunch of teachers simply couldn't be found. So this page celebrates a few of the real "Mrs. Browns" of the world!

For some field trip stories from real Mrs. Browns, click here.

**If you guessed meter as another reason for Mrs. Brown's name, you're right! "Miss Brown" has two heavy beats, and so does "Ms. Brown". "Mrs. Brown", on the other hand, has a nice DUM da DUM beat (MISsus BROWN) and fits much more smoothly into a line of poetry.

The Mrs. Brown Quiz

Based on a very informal, preliminary survey of real Mrs. Browns, I've compiled a short Mrs. Brown Quiz.

Can you guess the answers to the following questions:

1. If a real Mrs. Brown could take her class on a field trip ANYWHERE, where would she be most likely to go?
Answer

2. What is the most common first name of real teachers named Mrs. Brown?
Answer

3. Is this the same name as the imaginary Mrs. Brown's?
Answer

4. What are the terrible, horrible, awful things most likely to happen on a field trip with a real Mrs. Brown and her class?
Answer

5. What state has the greatest number of Mrs. Browns?
Answer

6. And which city or town?
Answer

7. What type of field trip is the most popular with real Mrs. Browns and their classes?
Answer

8. At what grade level do real Mrs. Browns most often teach?
Answer

9. And what is their most common specialty?
Answer

10. What do the students of real Mrs. Browns most enjoy on field trips?
Answer

Bonus Question: How many lucky schools have I found that have or have had more than one teacher with the last name Brown?
Answer

Do you know a teacher whose last name is Brown? To find out if your teacher's on my list, or just to see the many places I've found Mrs. Browns, take a quick peek at Tracking Down Mrs. Brown.

Or take a virtual field trip to one of the places where a real Mrs. Brown and her class have taken a real field trip. Go On the Town with Mrs. Brown.

To return to the main screen, click here.