Direction for Teachers of Creative Writing

(continued from page 7)

by Dan Lukiv

"There were times when I didn't express things well," Arthur said, "which of course was probably more important as a writer. To be told that this wasn't effectively said. Or this went nowhere. They [his teachers] weren't afraid to say those things. But all of that was still encouragement as a writer. Because they were encouraging me through their critiques to write better, to write more effectively, to write more cogently, to write with feelings, to write with the whole mind and heart and soul…In other words, they weren't Polly Anna in their encouragement. They weren't saying oh that's fantastic…in everything I did. No, no. They...would take something of what I did, critique it, and then ask for something better. So there was always this directional thing happening." Arthur had found these times of direction satisfying and exciting, but they stood out in particular because of the compassion his teachers had showed him.

A Note About Sound Direction From Compassionate Teachers. I wondered in the "Bracketing in Possibilities" subsection if Arthur would mention activities that addressed intrinsic motivation as examples that encouraged him to take up creative writing. Arthur did not explicitly mention such activities; however, they must have existed. If intrinsic motivation refers to sufficient levels novelty, autonomy and expertise (Stipek, 1998) for the student, then the writing activities in his senior English classes must have addressed intrinsic motivation. Sound direction about how to write well from compassionate teachers must have provided him with expertise. A great variety of reading material and class discussion, all food for his writing of thoughts and feelings, must have provided novelty. The exhilarating freedom he had felt about writing down his thoughts and feelings implicitly refers to autonomy.

Recommendations

We may not require all our students to become creative writers, but some students, given the right environment, like a marigold seed given the appropriate combinations of soil, nutrients, water, and sunshine, might germinate into a poet or fiction writer, into an Irving Layton or a Morley Callahan, or into an Earl Birney or a W. O. Mitchell. Some students might germinate into great dramatists. On the other hand, some students might germinate into poets, fiction writers, and dramatists of humble ability. That is fine too. If we, as educators, want to think about what that right environment might be, the themes from this study create a starting place.

That starting place does not offer "generalizability" (McMillan & Schumacher, 1997, p. 18). The themes in this study do not stand as tools "to predict" (p. 18). The sample size of n = 1 creates that assurance (Patton, 1987). In terms of "population external validity" (McMillan & Schumacher, 1997, p. 190), this study can not "be generalized...to other people who have the same, or at least similar, characteristics" (p. 190) as Arthur because his "psychological, sociological, educational, physical, economic" (Zunker, 1998, p. 7) and spiritual sides make him unique; however, the trustworthiness (Guba & Lincoln, 1982) or validity (McMillan & Schumacher, 1997) of this study ranks high due to many thorough participant review sessions, peer debriefing, and my bracketing in possibilities and bracketing out bias. Therefore, the themes of this study define a valid starting place.

Educators could reason, in view of "the accuracy" (McMillan & Schumacher, 1997. P. 584) of Arthur's eight themes, that certain events in school might encourage some students to become creative writers.

Teachers who offer their students a variety of silent reading experiences through reading programs, through literature programs, through access to class libraries, through visits to school libraries, through visits to municipal or otherwise public libraries, through visits to book fairs, and through creative book displays may be encouraging some students to become creative writers. Silent reading opportunities encouraged Arthur. They encouraged me. The Ministry lists a vast number of resources for silent reading in each of its three guides (1996a, pp. B-9 to B-126; 1996b, pp. B-9 to B-122; 1996c, B-9 to B-103).

The Ministry's (1996a, 1996b, 1996c) three guides do not encourage language arts teachers to consider the benefits of singsongs and do not address the benefits of teachers reading to students. But the International Reading Association tells teachers to "provide opportunities for students...to be read to each school day" (Supporting Young Adolescents' Literacy Learning, 2002; also see, e.g., Goodman, Goodman, & Flores, 1979; and Koltin, n.d.). Teachers who provide, especially in the primary grades, class singsongs, and teachers who provide quality oral reading of poetry and fiction, may be encouraging some students to become creative writers. These provisions encouraged Arthur. Jack Hodgins (1993) relates that one teacher reading fine fiction aloud encouraged him to take up fiction writing. I had many similar experiences.

Teachers who allow students blocks of time, without interrupting their sensory perceptions or their flights of fancy with questions or other assignments, to enjoy language experiences such as videos, free reading time, read-aloud poetry and fiction, and professionally-performed plays may be encouraging some students to become creative writers. The Ministry (1996a, 1996b, 1996c) refers to videos of movies and plays, to novels, to short story and poetry collections, to scripts, and to electronic media that could serve as content for uninterrupted language experiences.

Click for next page of this article