Higher Education

BlackSnake

Anaconda
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Posts
9,196
I've been thinking about getting a Master's in Professional Writing or the Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing. My educational background qualifies me, and I just had a short meeting with the Director of the Master of Arts in Professional Writing, who was encouraging.

I also talked with Anthony (Tony) Gooms, who is an author and professor. His take on it was, "If you want to write...write. A degree only shows your achievement." He’s a straight-up kind of guy and I like his books.

I was wondering what ambitions do others have here on Lit.
 
eventually when i get my school bills paid off I'd like to get a teaching certificate and, well, teach middle school.
 
Chicklet said:
eventually when i get my school bills paid off I'd like to get a teaching certificate and, well, teach middle school.

May god be with you.

I taught a "Graphics for Web Designers" class this past summer to 6th thru 9th graders and by the end of the first day I wanted to bring a bat to the next class. The next day I turned DI (Drill Instructor) on them, and the class flowed just like I wanted it to. They produced some very good and creative work.
 
I'm finishing my masters in elementary ed in January and I'm certifed grades 1-6. I also am finishing up the requirements for a high school cert. I plan to teach for about 5-7 years, get my national board cert, and within the next 15 get my EdD which will allow me to teach ed courses at the college level, and do K-12 Curriculum Direction for a school system while teaching middle or high school part time.

I think that when it comes to writing, the best way to become a better writer is to, well, write. Classes could help with grammar and such (but then, consider Toni Morrison who flaunts grammatical rules and is considered one of the best writers out there), but I don't think that the degree will necessarily make you a better writer. I think it's up to you.


I'd like for my book(s) to get published in the future as well...

And in my spare time, take over the world. that is all ;)
 
When I finished my B.A. at 51 two of my professor-mentors talked up grad school. My Sh're prof. tried to get me to publish one of my papers and had several ideas for my doctoral thesis. I was overwhelmened but loved formal study so got into SF State's fine program. I went for a year, got A's and loved it but was thoroughly burnt-out what with working fulltime and a long bus commute after work and getting home near midnight.

If I didn't have to work I'd love to be a fulltime student but not for the degree or career change (I'm content in my present job).

Writing programs can be good but I think mostly for the camaraderie of other writers and some helpful criticism from 'experts'. Otherwise, as my wise Sh're prof. said, "If you're a creative writer, do not get a Ph.D.; it will kill your love of reading and any creativity you have now."

Perdita
 
Yeah, I can imagine a room full of 9th graders sobered up quick after having the 'snake leveled at 'em ;)


mlle
 
I've dropped out until I figure out who I'm going to college for. (Hint: not my parents.) Ultimately I want to come back and actually profit from the classes, and lots of them. Easy to say now.
 
MlledeLaPlumeBleu said:
Yeah, I can imagine a room full of 9th graders sobered up quick after having the 'snake leveled at 'em ;)


mlle

Wouldn't that give the guys an inferiority complex, and the girls consider taking the vow?:p
 
BS in the classroom?

Svenskaflicka said:
Wouldn't that give the guys an inferiority complex, and the girls consider taking the vow?:p
Flicka, I'm going to presume he first passed out those paper glasses with the slits, you know, like the kind you use when you want to view a full eclipse.

Otherwise, that school is going to need to hire an extra special crisis counselor.

hoping beyond hope, Perdita :rolleyes:


p.s. recognize the special man in my AV?
 
Hm, I just finished Uni and I'm already missing it! Sigh, the classes, the mates, the late nights, the parties, the cramming before the exam, the junk food, the clubbing, the tequila nights, the girl's night in/out and of course the men. :)

I have a BA(Hons) in Communications and an MA in International Journalism. My ambition is to first of all get a job within the area of communications/journalism. From there on I'll take it as it comes.

Actually, by now my immediate ambition is to just get a damn job period! :(
 
deliciously_naughty said:
...

I think that when it comes to writing, the best way to become a better writer is to, well, write. Classes could help with grammar and such (but then, consider Toni Morrison who flaunts grammatical rules and is considered one of the best writers out there), but I don't think that the degree will necessarily make you a better writer. I think it's up to you....

I want to get a Master's degree, but getting one in my current field only wastes my time, being that I feel that I'm the best at what I do.
 
MlledeLaPlumeBleu said:
Yeah, I can imagine a room full of 9th graders sobered up quick after having the 'snake leveled at 'em ;)


mlle

I had an assistant, and after class on the second day she told me that I must have learned something after the first day. I know I felt like I had a beat down.
 
Hmmmm

BlackSnake said:
I want to get a Master's degree, but getting one in my current field only wastes my time, being that I feel that I'm the best at what I do.


BlackSnake,
I think it was Arthur Miller who said, "College is an expensive waste of time. If you want to write, just write."

Also, I believe Tennessee Williams had a job at the University he got fired from because he refused to work. He claimed work took time away from his reading and writing.

Two pretty good sources, I think.
 
Re: Hmmmm

Jenny _S said:
BlackSnake,
I think it was Arthur Miller who said, "College is an expensive waste of time. If you want to write, just write."

Also, I believe Tennessee Williams had a job at the University he got fired from because he refused to work. He claimed work took time away from his reading and writing.

Two pretty good sources, I think.

I could never see education as a waste of time
 
Re: Re: Hmmmm

BlackSnake said:
I could never see education as a waste of time

Education is never wasted, but having a piece of paper that says you're educated doesn't prove anything -- except to people more concerned about appearances than results.


Degrees are useful if you're looking for a cubicle next to Dilbert's, but they are NOT a requirement for being a good or successful writer. (Good and Successful are not necessarily synonymous either. :p)
 
I have a BSEE. I'm working on an MBA. There is no fucking way I will ever go into management, but that piece of paper can mean the difference between you and the next candidate. It also may be a key to higher compensation. I am also pursuing certifications in my field. The certifications are actually of more value than the MBA in terms of usable knowledge, advancement potential and hiring potential. Oh yeah, I write porn too...:p
 
What a sheepskin does best, is quickly show that its possessor knows how to follow instructions. :eek:

This is an important skill in the real world. :rolleyes:

The sheepskin possessor may not like their instructions, or agree with their instructions, but they have learned that if they do not follow their instructions, they will never prosper. :(

Some people never learn this fact. :confused:
 
I wanted an MBA after I retired from a job where what you did was important to a job where the letters before or after your name mattered more.

I shouldn't have taken the second job.

I went to the local university, spoke to the prof in charge of the MBA programme. He couldn't see the point for me but if I wanted the letters to impress my employers he'd enrol me. He didn't want to. He said that I'd be a disruptive influence because I'd always be saying "Been there, tried that. It didn't work. Did this instead. That worked." to management theories.

I asked my directors if they would support me. They wouldn't. Not even if I paid for the course myself and worked on it in the evenings. They didn't want me to have an MBA and have more letters after my name than they had. That stymied me. Part of the MBA had to be a study related to the student's employer. Without at least passive cooperation that was impossible. So no MBA.

I was irritated but not angry. What made me angry was being asked by the directors to be a mentor to the MBA students that they wanted to support. I did it for the students sake. The prof wasn't too happy. "My" MBA students were challenging the accepted themes of the course and justifying their challenges. So he asked me to give occasional unpaid master-classes in management. I did until my directors objected. I was getting "unwelcome" publicity.

Eventually the directors patience ran out. They tried to make me redundant but did it badly. I am living on the compensation they had to pay for their errors and the pension from the first job.

The moral for this thread? It is more important to do something well than to get academic qualifications saying that you might be able to do it. That doesn't apply to Government employment where the reverse is true.

Og
 
It might be mentioned that teaching keeps a number of writers alive as 'writers in residence.' If a writing program involved a lot of work with a good such writer, I can see it being worthwhile. Provided the person can teach and isn't too obnoxious and you don't have to fuck them if you don't want to. If it's with profs who've only criticised and never written, I can see a problem, in some cases.
 
Anyone else catching the irony here on the usage of writing vs the forum name?

I think it was Steinbeck who said something like...
"I don't know what an author does. I'm a writer, every day I write."

Personal opinion about 'higher' education - take the courses that will benefit your own mind, get the degree if you want it, not because you think someone else will become enamored. If that's all they want to see, they'll be more concerned with the name of the school on the paper than your name.

Take this with a lump of salt though, it comes from someone who never got the paper because the 'prof' had a nervous breakdown during the last week and had never turned-in grades. I taught the class from day 1 because I knew the subject better than anyone at the school (Fortran II-D) and the prof needed to learn the subject (he was math chair - I was math maj). The school refused to give credit, I refused to add another semester. They lost. I've never had a problem with it. Worked academics, government, private - if they want what I know, they have to pay for it. They want the piece of paper, they can get it for less.

My advise - you have your own unique set of talents. Never apologize for not having something an unqualified HR person wants so they can check a box. Sell your talents only to those who are qualified to determine if you will bring benefits to their team (the person who turned-in the request for help to HR).

p.s. I still put education requirements on my requests to HR because it helps me winnow the field. I look for EE's - not Computer Sci or Info Sci - because we do board-level programming - my folks need to understand the electronics behind the OS. But my best programmer has a degree in History. And my best salesman came from a used car dealership.
 
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ffreak said:
I think it was Steinbeck who said something like...
"I don't know what an author does. I'm a writer, every day I write."
This reminds me of an interview I saw with Q. Tarentino. He was asked if he went to film school.

He replied, "Uh, no. I went to films."
 
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