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From Ritual to Romance's avatar

It’s so unfortunate when teachers bring their egos into the classroom and use the students for their own self-aggrandizement. Learning cannot take place in that environment.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

I agree 100%. I was lucky to have informal teacher training my senior year of college with two very open, nourishing, good-humored teachers. I liked their style and it fit my personality.

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Lacy Arnett Mayberry's avatar

Absolutely agree with your approach. Writers bloom more in nurturing environments. And also, why make things unpleasant? It’s fiction, not boot camp.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

The creative writing program at a school I know fell apart because the two well-known senior professors hated each other and were cruel to their students.

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Shifra Sharlin's avatar

Yes! Helping students do more of what is uniquely their own -- helping them find what is uniquely their own. There are a lot of mean people out there and some of them teach writing! I never quite understand what the goal of mean comments is. The most heartbreaking thing is when students believe that they ought to get mean comments -- don't be afraid to be critical, they'll say. There are a lot of great writing teachers out there. Your Fordham professor sounds like one such gem! How wise to keep her close!

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Richard Donnelly's avatar

Learning to write is easy. It's the stuff that can't be taught that matters. As my high school English teacher said, I can teach you to write, but I can't make you interesting : )

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Liz Gauffreau's avatar

My first writing workshop teacher was Tony Ardizzone. He began the first class by making the point quite forcefully that his workshop rejected the Iowa model of holding the offending draft by the corner and announcing, "This is a piece of shit." I count myself very fortunate to have had him teach me what I needed to know about the craft of fiction (and teaching writing!).

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Lev Raphael's avatar

I didn't apply to Iowa because I thought it might be a hostile environment and I also didn't want to be that far from home. Programs in NYC were out of the question. Johns Hopkins's writers were too experimental and UMass/Amherst was in a beautiful part of Mass. and close enough to get back easily for weekends or holidays.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

That poem is brilliant!

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Lev Raphael's avatar

PS: I did my MFA at UMass/Amherst when James Tate was there. His readings were awesome and I think he's a reason why the program was then ranked up there with Iowa and Johns Hopkins.

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

Thanks, Lev. I think AWA is separate from UMass/Amherst? Lucky you, in the ambit of James Tate!

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Lev Raphael's avatar

Oh, yes, for sure, it's just the mention of that lovely town made me want to repeat its name. :-) And Tate's. I still have my copy of his collection Absences.

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X. P. Callahan's avatar

PS: Regarding the poem linked above, a creative-writing teacher told me it was a good start. "At least it's a poem," she said.

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Lev Raphael's avatar

Unbelievable. But then, not.

A friend was told by one writing teacher she hadn't suffered enough. The story was soon published after that.

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Oct 3
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Lev Raphael's avatar

It seems to have worked and is working with my students and clients..... It certainly fits who I am. :-)

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Oct 2
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Lev Raphael's avatar

It's the same, really, because if teachers aren't excited by their material, students won't be. I wish I could remember which 60 Minutes journalist years ago wrote about excitement as a ket element in the classroom. I would add humor to that.

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Richard Donnelly's avatar

My junior high science teacher almost blew us up. He made a miniature grain elevator and blowing thru a tube, duplicated an elevator explosion. We were excited all right : )

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