The Who, What, When, Where and Why of Teaching
We’re going to approach this lesson the same way you learned to write as a child, by covering the who, what, when, where and why of it all.
If you’re like I am, you’ve probably spent years learning the writing craft. You’ve gone to conferences, joined a local critique group and even started hanging out with writers. Your head is loaded with information, and now you feel compelled to share it with others. Or maybe you’re just thinking practically. You need to earn extra income and see writing as an avenue to accomplish that. Well, hang on for the ride! In this lesson you’re going to see that the potential for teaching is everywhere. You’ll also see that creativity is key, whether you’re teaching kids or adults.
WHO?
Let’s start with the word “Who.” Who is qualified to teach, and who needs to be taught? If you’ve spent time learning the craft, (even if you’re not published), you’re probably qualified to teach. How do I know this? Because I started teaching long before I published my first book. I stayed on a learning curve then, and I’m still on one now. A true teacher is also a learner. He or she is always willing to absorb new material, not just for the sake of the students, but to further develop his or her own skills, as well. And think about it this way, when you teach creative writing, you’re painting yourself into a corner. Forcing yourself to learn the craft. And then, when you share what you’ve learned with others, it only further serves to reinforce the material. In other words, you’ll come out of this teaching experience a much stronger writer.
Let’s assume you’re ready to teach. You feel led to do so. The next logical question would be: WHO do you approach to teach? What sort of schools or organizations should you target?
Let’s begin by talking about Christian schools. Private Christian schools cover all the basics in academics—and often sports—but don’t always have the funds to for arts classes. That’s where you come in. Offer to teach creative writing—for a set fee. We’ll talk more about this later.
Next, approach your local public schools: Unless you’re degreed to teach (and willing to work full-time) you probably won’t be able to teach on a regular basis. However, you might approach your local public school and offer to give a pep talk to kids in a writing class. Out of that could come opportunities to tutor young writers in your home or even book sales.
Now let’s talk about homeschool groups. Homeschool parents are always looking for ways to supplement their children’s education, and who better to teach those kiddos how to write than you – a freelance author? Offer your services to a local homeschool co-op or organization. We’ll talk more about how you can do that in a moment.
Local community colleges are always looking for people to teach their CE (continuing education) classes.
And what about writing groups? Begin by seeking out writing groups in your area. Perhaps you’re already a member of one. Groups like this are always looking for people who can teach on the writing craft.
Another place you might consider teaching is at writing seminars and local, state-wide or national writing conferences. We’ll cover these venues in detail shortly.
WHAT?
We’ve answered the “who” question: Students are everywhere! They’re in schools, homeschool groups, writing groups and conferences. And they’re looking for guidance, which you can give. But what, specifically, will you need to do to get your foot in the door? And once it’s in, what will you teach? What materials will you use? Let’s talk about that.
Let’s start with Christian schools. Maybe you have a plan in mind to teach two mornings a week at your local Christian School, but don’t know where to begin. Approach the school(s) with a complete plan (and curriculum). Offer your services for a set number of hours per week at a set price per hour. Let the school know that you’re freelancing, so that they don’t try to snag you as a full-time teacher (unless you’re interested in that). Get a copy of my “Creative Writing for the Christian Student” text, which is available as a bonus feature for this course. In it, you will find literally hundreds of lessons and ideas. Spend adequate time preparing for each lesson. Make it fun – for the kids and for you! Remember, you’re on a learning curve, too! Use the lessons to further develop your own skills as a writer.
Now let’s talk about public schools. As I mentioned earlier, you won’t be able to teach full-time unless you’re degreed and certified to teach. However, if you’re published (with magazine or book credits) you would probably be welcomed as a publishing pro and could offer an assembly to the students. In that assembly, you could talk about your life as a writer. Perhaps you could visit various classes and give a speech on one particular aspect of the writing craft, or talk about your journey to publication. Kids love that sort of thing, and so do teachers. Finally, if the school is willing, you could send home flyers to the parents, making them aware of your services or writing classes elsewhere.
I want to shift gears now and talk about what you would need to do to approach your local homeschool groups and co-ops. I was a homeschool mom for eleven years and belonged to three wonderful co-ops. We loved to bring in experts to teach our children the things that we couldn’t teach them ourselves. Maybe this sounds appealing to you, but you don’t know what to do. How do you approach these groups? First, begin by talking to a homeschool parent. Ask him/her what organizations are available in your area. Next, do your research online. Locate the various homeschool co-ops and groups in your area. Send an email, presenting yourself as a professional writer. The organization might not be able to pay you to come and speak the first time, but don’t let that stop you. The goal here is to get regular, ongoing students out of that visit. When you speak to the group, share some of the creativity ideas found in my textbook, then offer to teach ongoing classes to anyone who’s interested. Offer a set price for your creative writing course, one that you can all live with. Remember that many homeschoolers are trying to cut corners, so offer incentives, like a cap price for families with multiple children. What you do next is up to you: you can teach the course at a local church, in your home or even in a part. If you add field trips, you’ll win the kids over for life! Refer to the field trips section in my textbook for more information.
Now, let’s talk about what you’ll need to do to approach your local junior college to teach CE classes. Take at look at the college catalogue to see what’s already being offered. Come up with creative ideas (pottery-making/creative writing/sand art/photography/etc. etc. etc.) Give your course a snazzy name and create a fun curriculum that folks young and old could enjoy. Remember to target your course to older students. These won’t be children or teens. Most will be retirees and/or people looking to fill their time. I taught two classes at my local junior college simultaneously: One was titled, “Getting Creative About Being Creative” and the other one was titled, “Writing for the Inspirational Market.”
Let’s talk now about what you can do to win over your local writing group. Writing groups are all about the craft of writing. They’re not as interested in your personal journey as they are in getting published, themselves. (Sorry, but it’s true!) If you’re targeting a fiction-writing group, make sure you teach on subjects pertinent to fiction: POV, plotting, characterization, query letters, book proposals, themes, style, voice, etc. If you’re targeting a non-fiction group, be ready to talk about building a platform or meeting felt needs. If you’re speaking to a Christian group, understand that they will want to know about the spiritual aspects of writing, and if you’re targeting a novice group, they’ll just want to know how to get their foot in the door. Make sure your lesson has a clear take-away. These students are hungry for information, and they don’t just want milk and baby food. They’re looking for meat and potatoes.
Early, I mentioned Seminars and Conferences as potential venues for teaching. What do you need to do to approach directors of these events? In order to qualify to teach, you will likely need to be published, and multi-published at that. Be prepared to have audio or video files of your prior speaking/teaching engagements handy to pass off to the folks who choose the teachers and plan your speaking topics carefully. Your lesson(s) should be specific to the type of conference you’re targeting. See if you can get an online copy of the brochure from last year’s conference to see the sort of classes that were offered, then come up with something equally as compelling, if not more so.
WHEN?
We’ve talking about WHO. We’ve talked about WHAT. Now let’s talk about WHEN. When in your career do you begin teaching? As I mentioned earlier, you can teach creative writing even before you’re published. However, you will find that doors swing much wider once you present yourself as a published author, particularly at writing groups and conferences. I started teaching on magazine article writing after I’d had twenty or thirty articles published. I took copies of the magazines with me and laid them out on a table so my students could see what their articles might look like in print. You’d be stunned at what a motivator that was! Here’s another “when” to consider: When in your week/month/year are you available to teach? You’ll need to take a close look at your calendar to make sure you’re not on a book deadline during the very time you agree to teach. Here’s another “when.” When are you at your most creative—morning, afternoon or evening? All of these “whens” play a role.
WHERE?
Now let’s talk about “where” you’ll teach. Oh, sure. We’ve already talked about schools, writing groups and so forth. That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean. . .where, specifically. Indoors or outdoors? Where in the building? When I taught at a local school of the arts, we used nearly every room in the church building as a prompt. We sat in front of a stained glass window for one project. We use the pulpit for another. We sat on the front steps of the church staring at the clouds overhead for another. The possiblities are endless. If you’re at a loss to know where to go, take a close look at the field trips section of my creative writing text. In it, you will find over a hundred ideas for places to go and things to do!
WHY?
We’ve talked about WHO, WHAT, WHEN and WHERE. As we close out this lesson, we’re going to talk about “WHY?” Why should you teach others how to write? I feel so strongly about this that I’ve created an entire lesson in this course to cover the topic more thoroughly. We are called to stir up the gifts in other people. Writing shouldn’t be a self-centered venture. If we as writers don’t fuel the next generation, who will? If we don’t stir them up, will they carry on the craft to those who follow them? It’s our job to plant the seeds in the young writers of today, so that they can plant seeds in the young writers of tomorrow.
That’s it for now, potential teachers. Be courageous! Step out there and offer your services to schools and organizations. Where the road will take you is a mystery, but every writer worth his salt loves a great mystery. . .right? So, get to it!
