I was reminded by a student today that what we do in the classroom matters long beyond the reach of the classroom. It is an important reminder, because already I found myself becoming detached from the experiences of the composition classroom–not because I don’t love teaching those courses, but because the creative writing students so obviously want to be in that space and the others seem trapped there; required to live out their semester under my reluctant authority. Yet this isn’t true. The encouraging message came from a composition student and yet another pulled me aside earlier in the day to just say hi and let me know he was still around. So, I learned something: The energy and desire with which we approach a task translates to those receiving that task.
One of the things that make me the happiest is when students are successful and they light up and they act as though something they’ve learned has impact beyond the classroom. I’m not the best classroom teacher. I’m not necessarily the guy you want as your technical writing instructor. As a novelist I’m about creating a piece of writing that tells a story and does so in an engaging way. I can work you through the rules of syntax, but my heart lives in the ability to help you discover both voice and desire for the craft of writing. This combination lends itself well to the creative writing prefix, but often falls flat with composition where students are likely to have a history of stern, essay driven instruction. In truth, the discovery process drives my teaching vs. the structure of an essay. I want them to learn something and then discover the voice with which to share that something to an audience.