01/22/2015
Dear Mr. Weinstein,
Almost six months ago, when we received our schedules over the summer, I had serious doubts about taking Creative Writing. I considered alternate electives that would better interest me and I really wanted to drop the class. But, throughout my high school career, I’ve never dropped a class – even if I struggled through it – and I wasn’t going to start my senior year, my final year, any differently. I don’t entirely remember my thought process for staying, but I remembered acknowledging that it was a semester-long course that would only last a half-year if it really was nightmarish.
In middle school, one of my English teachers always described me as a “man of few words” and someone who’s incapable of communicating their thoughts in writing. In the four years since I’ve had her, I’ve let that stay with me and it bothers me that she gave me a label. It bothers me that when I visit her, I am still that label even though I’ve worked to change it and even though she hasn’t interacted with me academically in years. Although I generally don’t have low self-esteem issues, the label made me doubt my writing abilities and myself. I was scared to write. For a brief moment during my freshman year, I started to feel more confident in my writing ability; however, that confidence was quickly stomped all over. To be frank, I was a wreck with declining confidence all throughout my sophomore and junior year English classes. Nevertheless, I think I have finally started to regain my confidence throughout my experiences in Creative Writing.
Now that the semester is almost over, I’m glad that I’ve stayed in the class. I can’t say that I’m a talented writer, because I know I’m not. It means a lot to submit all sorts of works – mind maps, poems, and prose – and it means a lot to get marked “final” with positive comments. From the positive encouragement, I’ve realized that a middle school English teacher who’s given me a label doesn’t define who I am and doesn’t define my abilities. Growing up with very little positive encouragement from my parents has made my experiences in Creative Writing special.
I know that I’ll miss this class and I truly appreciate all the lessons in the class (and not just the ones about improving writing techniques). I love the way that the class operates. Having creative workshops to reinforce and practice all the different writing techniques has helped me improve my writing and my confidence in my ability. It’s refreshing and more valuable than being lectured for forty minutes a day. I’m never sure how an English class should be conducted, whereas math and science classes are conduct in the same manner by almost every teacher. Throughout my four years of high school English, each of my English teachers had different styles and different philosophies. I think Creative Writing is different from them all because there’s no assigned reading or assigned works. There are goals that we try to meet. Quite frankly, I think that has made all the difference. But beyond the classroom academics, it’s amazing that your insights are supplanted by personal life experiences. It’s refreshing and rewarding to be able to interact with a teacher with a wealth of knowledge.
With portfolios coming up and our final deadlines coming up, I made it a point to write down what Creative Writing means to me. It’s been a pleasant ride so far and I hope that the next few weeks of the semester will remain that way as well. I appreciate the lessons I’ve learned so far. My time in the class is coming to an end and I felt compelled to say thank you. Thank you Mr. Weinstein for being a great teacher to me and to many students.
Best Wishes,
Christopher Zheng
Dear Mr. Weinstein,
Almost six months ago, when we received our schedules over the summer, I had serious doubts about taking Creative Writing. I considered alternate electives that would better interest me and I really wanted to drop the class. But, throughout my high school career, I’ve never dropped a class – even if I struggled through it – and I wasn’t going to start my senior year, my final year, any differently. I don’t entirely remember my thought process for staying, but I remembered acknowledging that it was a semester-long course that would only last a half-year if it really was nightmarish.
In middle school, one of my English teachers always described me as a “man of few words” and someone who’s incapable of communicating their thoughts in writing. In the four years since I’ve had her, I’ve let that stay with me and it bothers me that she gave me a label. It bothers me that when I visit her, I am still that label even though I’ve worked to change it and even though she hasn’t interacted with me academically in years. Although I generally don’t have low self-esteem issues, the label made me doubt my writing abilities and myself. I was scared to write. For a brief moment during my freshman year, I started to feel more confident in my writing ability; however, that confidence was quickly stomped all over. To be frank, I was a wreck with declining confidence all throughout my sophomore and junior year English classes. Nevertheless, I think I have finally started to regain my confidence throughout my experiences in Creative Writing.
Now that the semester is almost over, I’m glad that I’ve stayed in the class. I can’t say that I’m a talented writer, because I know I’m not. It means a lot to submit all sorts of works – mind maps, poems, and prose – and it means a lot to get marked “final” with positive comments. From the positive encouragement, I’ve realized that a middle school English teacher who’s given me a label doesn’t define who I am and doesn’t define my abilities. Growing up with very little positive encouragement from my parents has made my experiences in Creative Writing special.
I know that I’ll miss this class and I truly appreciate all the lessons in the class (and not just the ones about improving writing techniques). I love the way that the class operates. Having creative workshops to reinforce and practice all the different writing techniques has helped me improve my writing and my confidence in my ability. It’s refreshing and more valuable than being lectured for forty minutes a day. I’m never sure how an English class should be conducted, whereas math and science classes are conduct in the same manner by almost every teacher. Throughout my four years of high school English, each of my English teachers had different styles and different philosophies. I think Creative Writing is different from them all because there’s no assigned reading or assigned works. There are goals that we try to meet. Quite frankly, I think that has made all the difference. But beyond the classroom academics, it’s amazing that your insights are supplanted by personal life experiences. It’s refreshing and rewarding to be able to interact with a teacher with a wealth of knowledge.
With portfolios coming up and our final deadlines coming up, I made it a point to write down what Creative Writing means to me. It’s been a pleasant ride so far and I hope that the next few weeks of the semester will remain that way as well. I appreciate the lessons I’ve learned so far. My time in the class is coming to an end and I felt compelled to say thank you. Thank you Mr. Weinstein for being a great teacher to me and to many students.
Best Wishes,
Christopher Zheng