ALAN Workshop-Joan Bauer
ALAN Workshop-Joan Bauer
Life, Death, and Mr. Deihl
"Some times accepting yourself is a war in itself. "
On Being a Writer:
Writers can take a common thing, take from the common threads and make them beautiful. A new book is like a new season, a shedding of a skin, a new world. Some times it's a hard season. Sometimes, everything is harder and you must prove what you know because the expectations are greater. More is being expected of our schools now, and we're being imprisoned by tight schedules, decreasing budgets and mandates. In an age of reality television, we should be warned that those who are increasing the expectations are not readers.
There is no peace in our lives these days. We live in fear and disbelief. We're searching for something to hold on to, something to help us combat our powerlessness. That's happening in our classrooms. There is hope, though, and were there is hope, there is power.We can help create power by using laughter.
It begins to break through to those who need the help the most. What is happening in our world? Writers are always touching life and death, taking a measurement against others. Where do our ideas come from? They come from our cultural history (place and time) and our personal history.
A teacher can make the difference. Mr. Diehl was a "Missionary for Ethan Frome". He wanted her to e more than she could be at that time, but his belief made a difference.
She is a former young person at risk, and she was not sure that the labor was worth-while. She was some one where nothing could grow but everything did.
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Last Updated April 11, 2011
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