What is Education Without Creativity?

This past week, I had the good fortune of teaching creative writing to a group of high school students at our Write Now summer camp. They are a wonderful group of teenagers, and we’ve had a lot of fun exploring fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and comics together.

As I watched them share their writing at the final reading today, I was impressed by their progress and also the sheer courage they demonstrated by sharing their writing with the world.

This week has also made me think about the good fortune that these teenagers have to take part in a program like this one at such a young age. When I was a high school student, I was definitely not encouraged to connect with my writer self, besides writing lab reports, historical arguments and literature analyses.

From second grade to senior year, I was enrolled in a rigorous academic program called International Studies (it becomes IB in junior year). The program is a bilingual curriculum that is partially funded by the French/German/Spanish governments.  It is intended for the children of European diplomats so that their children can follow their country’s curriculum while living abroad.

As a French citizen, I was able to enroll in the French program. For ten years, I took every subject in both French and English. My French teachers were brought over straight from the motherland, and they were not messing around. As an elementary schooler, I can remember crying over the sheer amount homework I had and its level of difficulty. The workload only got more and more intense as we got older. 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I was challenged in school. I know that’s not always the case for students in America.

On the other hand, I wish my education had been a bit more balanced. I feel like I missed out on an important aspect of my development throughout my entire academic career (until now) and that is the development of my creative side. Even as a child, there was little encouragement from teachers to explore our creativity, and I believe that’s because our system is focused on the end results. In high school, when everything you do is for the sole purpose of getting into a good college, students’ creative impulses often get pushed to the wayside. These days, funding for the arts is getting slashed more and more each year in favor of more standardized testing, which will only drag us deeper into this mentality of product over process, left brain over right.

Creativity is about meandering, exploring, and making mistakes. It’s about taking a journey, even if you don’t know what the destination will be. Unfortunately, our academic institutions don’t value process as much as they value the final product, and I think that’s doing a serious disservice to our students. How can we become effective problem solvers if we do not know how to be creative? And with the way things are going environmentally, socially and politically, we need as many creative problem solvers as possible.

This experience has made me wonder where I’d be today if I had been encouraged to explore my creative writing sooner… Of course, I’m glad I finally did make it to the party! Always a latecomer, but better late than never!

Happy campers at WRITE NOW reading!

Colette Stemple: Art Teacher Extraordinaire!

Ms. Stemple was my IB Photography teacher at Coral Reef, and she ignited in me a love for darkroom photography. My father was a photographer in the Belgian Army and I’ll never forget his excitement when I brought him into our darkroom at school. Even though it had been 30 years since he’d developed photographs, the smells of the different chemicals brought back many fond memories for him, and we made many of our own memories working side by side in the darkroom. That was the kind of teacher she was—opening up the darkroom in the evenings, staying late after school, letting us spend our lunch hour in her classroom. She was constantly pushing us to enter competitions and get our work out into the world. I’ll never forget her infectious enthusiasm towards her students and our creative pursuits—and that enthusiasm continues to this day. 

 Over the years, Ms. Stemple and I have kept in touch. After retiring from the Florida public schools, where she started three different art programs (the commercial art program at the International Fine Arts College, and the magnet art programs at Southwood Middle School and Coral Reef High School), she moved to Austin, Texas to be near her children and grandchildren. Around this time, several of my good friends also moved to Austin, so I’ve been lucky enough to visit this liberal Texas oasis several times over the years. I always make a point to spend a few days with Ms. Stemple, catching up with my friend, and each time, I am more and more amazed by this woman. To me, she was just my photo teacher, but to the rest of the world, she was a great artist.

During this last visit, I learned that she received an Olympic medal for creating glass windows that were showcased during the 1980 Olympic games in Lake, Placid, NY. She also created a book of photography with her students after Hurricane Andrew called “The Eye of the Storm through the Eye of the Child”, which was presented to President Clinton. I found out that she won many scholarships to study art abroad, including at the Villa Schiffanoia in Florence, and she was the VP of an art company. I took this opportunity to ask her a few questions about her mentors and her work as an art educator. Here’s a peek into our conversation…

Olympic medal!

Ms. Stemple meeting President Clinton

Original Abstract by Ms. Stemple!

How did you get interested in art?

In grade school, the art teacher came and the regular teacher left. She used to draw something on the board and whoever copied it best got the best grade. But I just started drawing everything in sight. And this teacher let me do whatever I wanted to do, which gave me a lot of confidence. She could have squelched me, but she encouraged my creativity instead. That’s the best thing a teacher can do. Creativity is what makes a person unique.

Who are some of your favorite teachers?

Ranulph Bye (transparent watercolor), Dolya Goutman (oil painting, drawing), Leonard Nelson (printmaking, drawing), Hoffman (photography), John Hanlen (painting, drawing), George Sklar (heavy-duty drawing). In Florence, Sister Giotto Moots was very encouraging. Steven Posen from Yale said all my abstracts were ugly, but I knew they were true. If they were ugly, that was the way he perceived it. Does anyone really do ugly on purpose? When he found out I was married and going to have babies, he wouldn’t talk to me. He said I wasn’t an artist anymore.

Portrait of Ms. Stemple by fellow artist

What mediums have you taught?

I’ve taught photography, sculpture, encaustic wax emulsion, ink drawing, oil, watercolor, drawing, furniture design. It’s hard to say what I haven’t taught. I don’t care what you give me. Put me on the beach and I’ll play with the sand.

You’ve taught at colleges and art schools. You designed the curriculum for the art programs at both Southwood Middle and Coral Reef High School, and you taught at each for 15 years. How do you feel about your work as an educator?

I never took an education course in my life by choice. I never wanted to be a teacher. I never had a garden, never wanted to grow anything. Teaching was planting a seed and watching it grow. What a heady experience. I got hooked. I’d been written up on interior design in NY Magazine. I’d done art for commissions. I had plans to run my own business. But the joy of watching my students far exceeded any joy I ever experienced marketing my own work. I found out I loved teaching. I really believed—if you can’t do it, teach it. Then I found out there’s a vocation called teaching. I fell in love with my students. My greatest joy are my kids – my own and my students.

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The teaching doesn’t stop. These days, she does artwork with her grandkids and teaches painting in the community. She spent a morning teaching me a few watercolor techniques while I was in town. It was hard!!!! I have so much respect for that art form now! And I continue to feel so lucky to have such a passionate, patient, and encouraging teacher as Ms. Stemple in my life! 

 

Original Artwork by Colette Stemple

The Case for Creative Writing

Yesterday was our last creative writing class of the semester, and my students each had the chance to discuss their successes and challenges over the past few months. Many of them were surprised by a newfound love for poetry, and others mentioned an appreciation for the meditative moment that we started every class with. Several students talked about their amazement at the revision process, which warmed my little writer heart.

Narration & Description

When we started discussing writing goals, I was disheartened when a few students shared feelings of distress about the future. As it turns out, some creative writing professors think it’s helpful to tell their students that they’re never going to make it as a writer – they’re never going to be Stephen King, and they’re never going to make money at this.

I struggle to understand the reasoning behind this scare tactic. No one was telling me I was going to be destitute when I was an American Studies major in undergrad. Why the obsession with dashing the dreams of young writers? What does it accomplish besides chasing students away from the writing life?

What this message does is only assign value to something with a dollar sign attached to it. Essentially, if something you are doing is not quantifiable in terms of money, then it is not a worthwhile use of your time.

Must everything be in the pursuit of money? Do we not engage in all kinds of things purely for pleasure? In my opinion, doing things solely for the sake of a paycheck makes for a sad life.

The truth of the matter is this: it is hard making a living as an artist of any kind, whether you’re a painter, dancer, writer, singer, or sculptor. Creating art is a way of life, and it nourishes us in many ways beyond the wallet.

There are jobs that pay you to write. One of my students got an internship writing for a nonprofit. She’ll be collecting and telling stories of people in the community, writing grants, and designing and editing children’s books. That’s great, but writers will always have to carve out time for their own writing. Very few people spend their whole lives sitting at a desk, working on their own creative writing. Very few people get paid to dance all day, or splash paint on blank canvas. 

There is a myth that writing must be the end all, the only thing you do with your time. If you are truly creative, you will find ways to make money AND write. Writers come in many stripes; they can be researchers, teachers, doctors, farmers, social workers, web designers, actresses, editors. Elizabeth Gilbert worked three jobs while writing her first two books, including as a waitress and bartender. Her writing made her no money, and yet she came home from working long shifts and put pen to paper.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t be honest with our students. If they have questions about finances, we should answer them to the best of your ability. Tell them that they should only write if they truly love writing, because that is the bulk of the writing life. Publishing is cool, if you’re so lucky, but even if it comes to that, it changes nothing about the writing process: you in a chair at a desk with your favorite writing utensil.

I think you should write if writing makes you happy, if it feeds something inside of you. Ask yourself: What is the ultimate goal for your writing? Is it simply for the sake of having a creative outlet that is your own? Does writing help you make sense of this life? Does writing in your journal feel like speaking to your oldest friend, or cuddling up with a bowl of chicken noodle soup? Is there a fire in your fingers that can only be quelled by putting pen to paper?

We are creative writing teachers, not financial planners. My job as a creative writing teacher is to keep my students writing. If a student wants to major in creative writing, good for them! If they want to make a living as a writer after they graduate, good for them. If the lights get turned off or their bellies rumble with hunger, they’ll get a job that pays the bills and fills their pantry. If they love writing a lot, they’ll do it still, regardless of the job and the bills and the kids. Because the act of creating something that didn’t exist before feeds a part of you that isn’t quantifiable with dollar signs. 

The Reverent Art of Teaching

General duties of a student: pull everything out of your teacher. 

Pull everything out of your fellow students.

General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students.

Corita Kent

As you may have heard (I’ve been shouting it from the mountaintops), I’m teaching creative writing this semester. The class I’m teaching is an overview of the genres and a chance for undergrads to dip their toes into the endless well that is “creative writing.” Two weeks in and I am brimming with gratitude, happiness, and a bit of apprehension, too.

First of all, it’s a huge honor to be teaching creative writing as a graduate student. I recognize that not many MFA students have this opportunity and I am definitely going to try my best to do right by my students. It’s a far cry from teaching composition, where I was handed a syllabus, content, and projects to fulfill. I was grateful for the hand-holding, though, since I had little experience with the topic before teaching it. Now, it is up to me to write the syllabus, provide readings, plan assignments and decide on a grading rubric. No biggie, right?

Thankfully, I have the good fortune of taking a creative writing practicum in conjunction with teaching my class. This means that I get to bounce ideas off my classmates on a weekly basis (who are also teaching creative writing for the first time) and learn different ways to foster a creative environment for my students to grow, explore, and flourish. Did I mention that one of the most wonderful professors I’ve ever had is teaching it? So very exciting. On a less exciting note, all of us teachers will be filmed twice this semester for learning purposes. My professors says that athletes figured out a long time ago that studying footage of their games helps them get better, so why not writing teachers?

And then, there’s the part about actually being in the classroom, reading and writing alongside some pretty special students. My practicum professor says we must always approach the students with reverence. This hit home for me last Tuesday when they turned in their first piece of creative writing. Sitting at my desk at home, reading through the essays and poems, I was struck by the sheer bravery of my students. Creating by definition means making something that did not exist before. Therefore, being creative means you must accept the unknown and give in to the process. Tapping into this part of yourself requires a willingness to be vulnerable, which is not always an easy thing to do.

I was moved to read my students’ work. It is clear that they put time and effort into their writing, and their creative courage blew me away.  But also, I am honored to be given this role as educator to cultivate and nourish their beautiful creative spirit. I recognize now what a super special position I’m in to bear witness to creativity, and I also recognize that with this gift comes responsibility.

As I delve deeper into the creative process, I am beginning to understand it as a marriage between mystery and discipline. One must be brave enough to jump into the unknown, but also wise enough to trust the free-fall.

Crafting a Creative Writing Class

Dear readers, another semester is upon us! And like every semester, this one comes with its own set of challenges and surprises. 

At USF, second year is a special time in every creative writing student’s life. This is the time that we get to TEACH creative writing. Before this, I taught three classes of composition, and I am grateful for the experience. But I was also grateful for the syllabus that was handed to me and the formula I was given to follow. I never had any formal pedagogical training before coming here, so I was happy for the hand-holding.

Well, the hand-holding is over. On Tuesday, I will stand before a roomful of students who have signed up for Creative Writing 2100, Narration and Description. I was given suggestions about which textbooks to use and a few sample syllabi, but for the most part, I’m flying this plane.

At first, I didn’t realize that I was the pilot. I modified the sample syllabus that I was given and sent it along to my professor. [Thankfully, we will also be taking a class on Teaching Creative Writing, but that starts at the same time as our own classes begin. It will be a great help as the semester progresses, but for now, we’re on our own.]

My professor sent back her comments. Nice syllabus, she wrote. But what do you really want to teach these students? I hadn’t really thought about it. I was just going to teach them what I was supposed to teach them.

At a bar the other night, I met a woman who had just finished her undergrad at USF. When I told her I’d be teaching Narration and Description, her face blossomed into a smile. “That class changed my life,” she yelled across the table, making herself heard in the loud bar.

Whoa. The possibility of changing lives had never occurred to me. Later on, I was speaking to a friend on the phone, another woman fresh out of undergrad.

“My freshman writing class opened up my whole world,” she said. “It changed the way I see the world around me, and my place in it.”

All of a sudden, I had a whole new vision of what I was doing in that classroom. Yes, my job was to get them to think critically about literature and explore different forms and techniques of creative writing. But, this was also an opportunity to expose them to ideas and worldviews they may never have considered before.

I threw my old syllabus out. Whereas before, planning the class seemed like drudgery, now I was on fire, constantly adding ideas to my list of activities, assignments, readings, and field trips. This has given me the opportunity to think back to all the things – poems, books, photos, places, and people – that influenced me at that age and brainstorm ways that I can bring those experiences into my classroom.

Do you have any books, movies, poems, photographs – ANYTHING – that truly moved you as a young adult? I am open to all of your ideas!