Hamlet in Prison

Jack Hitt’s hour-long report  for This American Life on Hamlet performed by prisoners, originally broadcast in 2002, has inspired me all week with its deep insights about Hamlet and encouragement for my own students, a few of whom have come from prison.

Nobody points out the ex-cons in my classes–I wouldn’t know that detail if they didn’t confide in me themselves. A couple have broken my heart by returning to prison or to the streets, but most are determined to take their second chance and become a blessing to their families. Like this reporter, I don’t necessarily want to know what they’ve done in the past. For me, their life begins here and now.

And I’d love to have all of my students think of my class-as one prisoner/performer said of his experience with teacher/director, Agnes Wilcox–”For a few hours a week, we get to feel human again.”

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Text © Gwyn Nichols 2011

If You Ask Advice from an Author

If you ask 22 author friends for advice, they’ll write you a whole book!

Steve Silberman had been reporting on professionals with autism/Asperper’s and became an expert on such neurodiversity, so naturally, it’s time to write his book. The process of turning a 4,000 word article into a 100,000 word tome was intimidating, so he asked for a little help from his friends. It might take him the first month to digest the advice and select which parts to use, whether adjusting his scheduling, process, outlook, or technology, but it’s a great collection:

Neurotribes Blog

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Text © Gwyn Nichols 2011. All Rights Reserved.

My Favorite Kind of Payday

In my introductory college skills class this quarter, a student told me about repeatedly sabotaging his final Naval promotion because at that level, he’d be required to write reports galore. Writing terrified him. This week he submitted his report on this quarter’s learning–one of the best reports I’ve ever received. It was thoughtfully written, and formatted and illustrated with accuracy and artistry. Here’s my favorite paragraph: ”This is how I learn best: learn, then apply, then do it all over again. When I was in school, I felt like the teachers asked me to put a bike together that had tons of bolts, screws, and nuts and only gave me a fork and told me to put it together in the dark. Now I have the tools and I can see.”

I cried. Now that’s a teacher payday! This is why we do it, so these beautiful, brilliant people can see what we see in them, and achieve what we know they are capable of.

The student must show up and submit to the work, and it helps if that student arrives humble and scared, but willing. Once again, I’ve seen the proof that writing is a learnable skill. And got to feel like the miracle worker. (That would be the student, really, but I did show him how.)

For another touching teacher payday, catch Amanda Lucille’s day in Ukraine with the Peace Corp:

• little victories (suddenlybeautiful.wordpress.com)