 Developing as a Teacher
Essential for Excellence
by Denis Ledoux What can you do right now to prepare yourself to excel as a lifewriting teacher? Most lifewriting teachers believe deeply in the importance of the lifewriting process and want to help their students to succeed. But every lifewriting teacher is not a published writer nor is every writer an experienced teacher. Successfully incorporating the subtleties and complexities of lifewriting into your workshops doesn't require that you be a professional writer. It does require that you write regularly yourself. Think about it: is it likely that you could learn to swim from someone who doesn't know how to swim? Even if you trust her, what in the world could she, unfamiliar as she is with being in the water, share with you to help you master strokes and feel comfortable in the water? Writing is the same. A teacher who isn't familiar with the limits and challenges of lifestory writing cannot lead a writing class with confidence. If you don't practice writing yourself, you simply can't address the issues that arise for your students. If you're not writing, I strongly urge you to start today. Create a schedule for yourself in the interests of becoming the best lifewriting teacher you can become. Write regularly. (Regularity is more important than frequency or duration. To be a good teacherãattentive, caring, insightful, knowledgeableãyou don't have to have sold or published your writing, you don't have to be well known as a writer. But you do have to have struggled with the medium enough to understand what the process of writing feels like and what it can and can't do. When you've written enough to know what leads to a successful story, you can lead your students with authority. Then you will be on your way to becoming a good lifewriting teacher/ If you want to be successful as a leader of lifewriting workshops, you need not be a world expert or a Nobel laureate/. You must, however, have written much more than your students have. You must be practiced, familiar with the flow of the writing process the way a swimming instructor knows the feel of each stroke in the water. How do you gain that experience as a writer? There are many ways. Here are four suggestions for steps you can take right away. 1. Write regularly and prolifically. This is something you can do at home on your own. You can start immediately and enjoy the different it makes as you lead your very next program with the confidence of first-hand experience. 2. Read a lot. There are many excellent writing manuals available. Resources (such as Turning Memories Into Memoirs) contain numerous helpful writing exercises to develop your skills and to provide successful writing experiences. (The three-ring Lifewriter's Memory Binder is a useful tool designed to help you elaborate on and organize your stories.) Reread Turning Memories so that you understand its content enough to explain it in your own words. When you use the book as the text for your classes, you eliminate the need to invent a structure or class plan. It's all there in Turning Memories. Participants appreciate how the text provides an extension of your workshop as they write between classes or after your series is done. 3. Join (or start) writing groups in your area and/or work with a writing buddy. 4. Give yourself an immersion experience to address your writing schedule and goals: attend one of our Turning Memories Into Memoirs workshops or join our Advanced Lifewriting Retreat. At these workshops, you will gain more skills in a five-day period than you might conceivably acquire on your own in months, because the support of a dedicated master teacher and the focus of a group of lifewriting peers with carry you beyond your usual limits. The other aspect you must master to become the best lifewriting teacher you can is effective teaching. When students realize that you care deeply about your writing and about them, they will forgive you a multitude of teaching "sins of omission and commission." Still, it's important to be good at your work and not count on the indulgence of your students! In this regard, the Turning Memories® curriculum (part of the Soleil teaching packages) is a shortcut tailored to a proven memoir writing program and already set up and ready for your use. As you begin to lead workshops and classes, make yourself familiar with the curriculum. After presenting a class, critique yourself carefully. One indicator to check is how many questions did you have in the class? While you want to encourage questions from students (the absence of them may indicate an atmosphere of terror or stupor!), clear, sequential and thoroughly prepared lesson plans obviate the need for questions. That is your goal: to present the material clearly and completely so that every participant understands. Again, practice is the best step to take. You cannot be an experienced and confident teacher without spending time in the "classroom!" A good curriculum and careful preparation, sensitivity to your students' needs and dedication to your belief in the value of the work of lifewriting are very important. The monthly Open Forum tele-conference we conduct with Soleil Lifestory Network teachers and guests is a unique opportunity to get and share input with peers on how to become more effective writers and teachers. Please plan to join us. The Open Forum is held on last Thursdays of the month. Call 207-353-5454 for info or check http://www.turningmemories.com/update.pdf |