The panel went fine, except for the part where I dropped an F-bomb. On my love for teaching, the Peter Elbow of it all, and saying the quiet parts out loud.
That first third of this—boy howdy did I enjoy that. So. Spot. On. The way some folks who've never worked outside the academy equate it with the salt mines is just . . . .
I was invited back to my MFA Alma Mater once to guest teach and apparently was so terrible they changed the job description so that no alumni were allowed to ever return and teach again.
The section on the panel raises lots of questions on class and family educational traditions. It sounds like the other panelists were a bit oblivious of others' circumstances.
As a first-generation college student, I asked my wife, who comes from a college-educated family, to read Alfred Lubrano's Limbo. The other panelists might want to look into that as well.
Thanks for this, Dan. I'm going to forward it to a writer friend from our NYU CWP days who now teaches at UTEP. Peter Elbow was her professor, long ago (and after NYU), and I think she'll appreciate what you've said here. Hope you're keeping well.
That first third of this—boy howdy did I enjoy that. So. Spot. On. The way some folks who've never worked outside the academy equate it with the salt mines is just . . . .
I was invited back to my MFA Alma Mater once to guest teach and apparently was so terrible they changed the job description so that no alumni were allowed to ever return and teach again.
It's almost as if they set us up to fail in these situations.
The section on the panel raises lots of questions on class and family educational traditions. It sounds like the other panelists were a bit oblivious of others' circumstances.
As a first-generation college student, I asked my wife, who comes from a college-educated family, to read Alfred Lubrano's Limbo. The other panelists might want to look into that as well.
I totally agree, and it would take a whole other 'stack to discuss, if not several. I love Limbo, and wrote a fan letter to Lubrano once when I was writing a piece for Assay some years back: https://www.assayjournal.com/daniel-nester-straddling-the-working-class-memoir6527965279-21.html
Thanks for this, Dan. I'm going to forward it to a writer friend from our NYU CWP days who now teaches at UTEP. Peter Elbow was her professor, long ago (and after NYU), and I think she'll appreciate what you've said here. Hope you're keeping well.
This is great, Dan! I needed to read this today. Cheers, Lea
You are the epitome of an excellent teacher/Professor