Here is a personal narrative essay about an experience I had
teaching writing as an adjunct college instructor, structured
in the same way that most students' essays will be.
At the bottom of the page are comments about the piece as well
as links other pages about teaching and using narration in essays
and other nonfiction work.
The college drop out
In most cases when good students tell me they have to drop out
of college to work, I mutter my regrets at their having to abandon
their education. But just once I wished a dropout good luck with
no regrets.
It was near the end of the second semester, when a first year
nursing student came to see me. Kathy was not my best writer�that
distinction was held by a guy who wanted to be a forest ranger and
said he loathed writing�but her writing was always thoughtful and
thorough.
"The first day of class, when you said the hardest part of teaching
first year students was getting them to discover topics they had
opinions about," Kathy said, "that made me mad. I knew I had opinions
about lots of things.
"Then when you gave the first assignment, I discovered that that
I didn't know enough about any of the things I had opinions on to
write about them.
"So I took a piece of paper, wrote 'things I have opinions about'
at the top, and taped it to the back of my dorm room door. Whenever
I had some time, I'd go to the library and read about something
on the list so I'd have some information to back up my opinions.
"As I went to my classes, I realized that other people had opinions
on topics I didn't know anything about but that I needed to know
about. So I got another piece of paper, wrote at the top 'things
I ought to have opinions about' and taped it to the door.
"I didn't have any classes Friday afternoons this term, so every
Friday afternoon I went to the library and read about one of the
topics on my lists."
Kathy said she said she didn't have money enough to continue college.
She was going to instead of returning in the fall, but she wanted
me to know the impact my class had on her life.
I never heard from Kathy again after that semester. She left college.
I went on to another job in a different state. As far as I know,
she never went on to write best sellers or win recognition for her
scholarship. Yet as I look back over my years of teaching writing,
I remember Kathy as one of my greatest success stories.
What made her outstanding was her determination to learn. She was
willing to admit that she didn't know something but unwilling to
remain ignorant. Kathy understood that getting an education is not
the same thing as going to school.
The tools for learning are available to all students. Sometimes
they just need an annoying teacher to get them to pick the tools
up.
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