My favorite barn..this barn has seen some action

  January 29, 2008 — Okay, okay. Teachers from everywhere are e-mailing me tips, anecdotes, experiences and warnings from all over the country as I prepared to head for Granville High to teach a six-week writing course that will hopefully result in one one of the first Bedlam Farm Books.
  I was not a good student myself, hated almost every day in school, learned little, was taunted by peers, harassed by teachers, inept in gym, was thrown out of numerous classes and drummed out of two colleges, so I hope to redeem myself and my sorry educational record a bit. Here begins another Campbell-style hero’s journey – fiasco or bliss.
  So I am going to do a Journal: Report from Granville High on my return to the classroom, which begins Wednesday, 8 a.m. I have permission to take photos and put them up on the site, which I will do. A teacher/moderator has been assigned to each class, ostensibly to help me, but perhaps to keep an eye on me.
  Here’s what I’m bringing:
 A camera backpack, my Canon  5-D, which I now love almost as much as the dogs, three lenses, a 50 mm for indoor lighting, and a 24 -105 medium zoom (brand new, to replace two lenses broken, dropped by frozen fingers while out night shooting in the cold)  70-200 zoom, (a remarkably versatile lens, even at close quarters), possibly a strobe, maybe a lightstand.
  One or two dogs, TBA, either Izzy, Lenore, or both. A bowl for water. Maybe a chewbone or two, if I bring the ravenous Lenore, who will otherwise raid lunchboxes.
  A cup of coffee from a nearby McDonald’s – very important for me. Maybe two cups. A diabetic snack bar to keep my blood level steady, and to avoid keeling over in class.
   Two bags of books, including my book “Geeks”, and five or six different coming-of-age memoirs the kids can choose from and read if they wish.
  Tomorrow’s plan: Introduce myself, gas on briefly about my writing life. Take photos.
  Ask each kid to tell me why he or she is there, and what they think about their writing.
  Ask each student to tell a story about their lives, perhaps something that has changed them (thanks to the students who wrote me suggesting this) and hopefully, planting a seed for a story.
  Ask each kid to write something so that I can see it, and hopefully, to give me a bio.
  Talk about the book idea I have in mind – “Tales from Granville High” about their writing stories that capture the experience of living in Granville, N.Y., a rural, economically challenged town in the old Slate Belt.
   Talk about how stories are structured – beginning, middle and end, and about what is to me, the most critical element in a writer’s life: the ability to show work to others and accept feedback. I know many writers who are done in by their reticence about showing their work and taking criticism. For me, and this is the truth, writing is as much about determination as talent. Many writers – most – are more talented than I am, but I am as stubborn as anyone will not quit on a book.
  I love blogging for various reasons, many of them having to do with brain disorders, but I especially love and need the feedback. I get lots of compliments, which is great, but when I write something dishonest, self-referential or stupid, I hear about it and fast. Only way I know to grow as a writer is to show work. So I will try and get them comfortable doing that.
  My motto for tomorrow is: do no harm. Get them to relax, get them excited, keep them that way and look for that moment in a writer’s eyes when something lights them up.
   Finally, answer any questions.
   The circus is coming to Granville. I will keep you posted. Thanks for the good wishes and the advice.