Soul of 78: Janet Mego

Retired English teacher, Walker High School

Words by Anna Lee Vaughn | Images by Ryan McGill

“Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn and caldron bubble.”

Janet Mego’s students listened as she stood with black-smudged eyes, donning a witch’s robe and hat while reciting “Song of the Witches” from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

“I decided to show these kids that Shakespeare can come alive,” says Janet. “Shakespeare didn't write for kids to look at a book and try to absorb those lines. He wrote to see it performed.”

Literature is a powerful tool that Janet used often, and with purpose, and in doing so she made a great impact on her students.

Born in Connecticut, Janet moved around the United States and the country of Czechoslovakia as a young girl. Her mother often took her to ballets, museums, and stage plays, instilling in her the value of the arts. They eventually settled in Alabama where Janet attended The University of Alabama.

“I majored in art, and took a lot of English classes, but I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. After college, I sort of floundered a bit,” Janet recalls.

After getting married, Janet lived in Sumter County where her husband worked. She worked as a server, creating art in her free time. After the full-time art teacher at Livingston University saw her art hanging in the restaurant where she worked, she soon received the opportunity to teach art part-time for the university.

“During that time, I discovered that I loved teaching. I knew I needed a full-time job, so I decided to go back to school and get my teaching certificate,” says Janet.

Through the fifth-year program, Janet earned a master’s degree from Alabama. She discovered that she loved literature and writing as much as she loved art. After graduating, she began teaching English at Walker High School.

“There were some things about teaching that were hard for me, but the thing that drove me was teaching these kids to think for themselves,” says Janet. “Writing and literature were the two most powerful tools I used to help kids learn to think on their own and express that thinking.”

After 25 years, Janet retired from full-time teaching and taught AP English part-time for a few years. She now teaches art classes at Kentuck Art Center in Northport, Alabama.

The classroom her stage and her students the audience, Janet Mego brought literature to life and taught lessons her students will never forget. 78