Deborah Springhorn
Deb Springhorn is a retired History/English teacher. The bulk of her 40-year teaching
career has been in the Upper Valley, first at Lebanon High School and then at KUA.
In the spring of 2013, Deb was awarded the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical sponsored
by the NH Charitable Foundation. During the year, she wrote an interdisciplinary contemporary
history course titled "Global Issues Since the Fall of the Wall," which she taught
at both LHS & KUA.
Shakespeare’s Othello: Tragedy, Power, and the Politics of Difference in Renaissance Venice (Spring Term 2026)
Participant Testimonials:
Deb effectively facilitated group discussions and encouraged full participation. Reading the play by acts and going through the characters was helpful to understand nuances and to form a picture of that time.
All of my above "agrees" should be viewed as superlatives. Deb's knowledge of the play and the skill as a presenter from her long experience in teaching made the content of the play and the context of the period in which it was written so clear. Although many members of the class were more aware of the content of the play than I, the presenter involved everyone in the class and welcomed every question or observation. I wish she had taught me Brit Lit in my High School or College.
Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice (Spring Term 2025)
Participant Testimonials:
Deb clearly knew the play inside out from teaching it for so many years. Her knowledge, enthusiasm, and openness to our views and reactions made for a rich learning environment. We discovered something new about the text each week.
My experience of reading Shakespeare is minimal, at best, and I was a bit leery of taking this class. It was a great class. Amazing discussions, insight from all involved. Deb made the class very low key, and provided excellent issues/questions for discussion.
The reading aloud of the play--one Act per class meeting--allowed everyone to participate and to look more deeply into passages & scenes that troubled, confused or delighted us. I enjoyed how reading the play together helped me catch things I missed reading it on my own