Search

A novelist and teacher of creative writing describes his experience teaching with the world-famous writer, James Michener. Topics include Michener's background as an orphan who never knew his parents, his athletic scholarship to Swarthmore College, the first meeting between the teacher and Michener, and Michener's generous comments made to apprentice writers.

A writer discusses her experience teaching writing to elementary, high school, and college students, focusing on how the writing of poetry can liberate the energy in students' minds. Topics include the relationship between the health of an individual's creativity and the health of a society.

The way in which a study of insects prompted cross-curricular convergence in a sixth-grade classroom is described. It is vital that teachers of students in the late elementary grades use creative and innovative teaching techniques to maintain student interest.

Ways in which art and science can be incorporated into language arts studies are considered. The weather is a good subject to take, as students can keep daily weather observation charts and sketch clouds.

A collaborative inquiry study group that offers a framework for enhanced involvement by a young writer experiencing difficulties is discussed. This approach allows students to show what they know and what they need to know.

Issues concerning the notion of ownership of children's written work are discussed. The ways in which children can be encouraged to move towards independent writing are considered.

Gender differences in writing are visible from an early age. This may be attributable to a view of writing as drawing on highly gendered attitudes. The differences between boys and girls in writing can be seen as comparable to the differences between Whites and racial/ethnic groups that have been exposed to social and economic discrimination in the US. It must be recognized that boys often regard school-defined literacy as not including, or even ignoring, their own narrative tastes. Many feel from an early stage that proficiency in school-based writing comes more easily to girls.

It is easy to underestimate the vast amount of knowledge children acquire about society. Close investigation of children's fictional writing can indicate the presence of a detailed understanding of societal tensions, gender and economic social forces of which a young child would not be expected to be aware. It is clear that regarding a child's writing as a social/literary text can give a valuable insight into many controversial matters in modern society.

Issues discussed concern the advantages and disadvantages of writing workshops for amateur writers. Topics addressed include effective methods for assuring productive comments from workshop participants, the interaction between writer and listener, and how to deal with rude workshop participants.

The author discusses his experience of learning how to write poetry under the instruction of African American poet Gerald Barrax.

In an interview African American poet Sam Cornish expounds on his experiences as a child, as a creative writing teacher, and discusses his literary influences.

Four questions that are vital to elementary writing instruction are discussed via e-mail exchanges between two professional women. These questions refer to the need for teachers to be writers, the need for writing students to keep a journal, the politics of writing and the need for students to have their work published. Although each of the women took contrasting views, they often found themselves agreeing on most critical issues. Both are particularly convinced that teachers looking to enhance their writing programs must guard against complacency.

Directors of writing workshops should develop techniques that improve craft and do not harm students. Writing workshops should be democratic processes that respect writers' opinions and encourage storytelling whether stories are publishable or not. Autocratic methods can replay destructive power paradigms often found in families and schools. Such methods can elicit the shame, punishment, and competition that inhibits personal transformation.

The Iowa Writers' Workshop can be a mysterious place for a man over 40 who has chosen to begin his writing career there. Younger students more familiar with the literary life and teachers who speak in cryptic language can disorient the middle-aged novice, but important literary lessons can be learned at this prestigious institution. If students spend their time wisely, they can transform their lives.

Writing teacher Phil Schultz believes students can access their emotions by mastering literary techniques. His techniques are subtle strategies that incorporate plot and rhythm but concentrate on deeper demands such as developing an effective narrator. Schultz conducts exercises using the works of master writers and explores the roots of his students' creativity. He was the director of New York University's creative writing program and opened the Writers Studio in Manhattan in 1987.