The Pleasure of Guiding Blossoming Writers

I learned that you should feel when writing, not like Lord Byron on a mountain top, but like child stringing beads in kindergarten—happy, absorbed and quietly putting one bead on after another.
Brenda Ueland


I don't know much about creative writing programs. But they're not telling the truth if they don't teach, one, that writing is hard work, and, two, that you have to give up a great deal of life, your personal life, to be a writer.
Doris Lessing



For the second consecutive year I’ve taught a course titled Introduction to College Writing, here at Balboa Academy, under the auspices of the University of San Diego. The students—mostly seniors, along with a handful of juniors—who successfully complete the class will receive three units of college credits that they can transfer to their university of choice.

As a teacher, last year was a rewarding experience, and based on what I learned I was able to, from the onset of the school year, develop a writing curriculum that challenges the students, encouraging them to venture forth into the world as writers who seek to have readers see the world as they do. I’ve been blessed with a group of talented, hard-working youngsters that has accepted every writing challenge I’ve set before them.

Because the results have been so enjoyable for me to read—not to mention enlightening—I feel the need to share these with a larger audience. I want to thank Eric Jackson, publisher of The Panama News, for making this possible. The students’ essays, which have been appearing regularly in the Opinion section since the September 22, 2008 issue, have been well received. I’d now like to take this opportunity to invite readers to revisit the notable writings these young authors have produced.

The first class assignment was to write a piece that would give readers insight into the type of person the author is. Alexandra Kula shared with us the essay “I’m Peter Pan,” in which she, as a youth who has already experienced life in several countries, describes how Panama has become home, and that she wishes she didn’t have to grow up so she could stay here a little longer.

Dominique Wiese, who has Zonian roots, writes about awakening to her mother’s heritage and coming to fully appreciate this part of herself in the piece “The Colombian in Me.”

When asked to write about something that would give readers insight into the type of person she is, Katalina Durbin responded with “The Eyes of a True Angel”—a moving piece about her summer volunteer experience at Panama’s Children’s Hospital.

Another student of Zonian stock, Andrew Bivin, wrote about how a close friend, by way of example, has taught him to seize the moment as opposed to planning every detail of his life in “Yes, No, Maybe So.”

In “What Made the Difference,” Erica Mutoh shares the vital lesson she learned about the importance of having an accepting attitude when she was confronted with a major change in her life.

The second class assignment was for students to narrate a personal experience. Spencer Jackson, in “A Walk in the Dark,” tells us about the terrifying experience of being stranded one night in the Netherlands.

In the piece, “My Pet Rock,” David Madinger, with considerable humor, shares his experience of being a rare item: a teenager afflicted with a kidney stone.

Ashley Kula, when asked to write about a personal experience, composed “Moving On,” a tale about her highly successful transition into life in Panama.

“California, Here We Come” tells of Michelle Klimasch’s discovery of and newfound passion for the great state.

Juan Diego de Obarrio narrates a harrowing tragedy he witnessed, years ago, at Panama’s Avalon Water Park in the piece “Slide #9.”

Students were also asked to write an essay about another person. Sarah Beck produced the touching piece “You Cook. I’ll be the Granny.”

And when asked to write an essay about culture, Eisha Abdel-Ghany opted to take her readers on a stroll through the streets of Cairo in “Walk this Way: or, Walk like an Egyptian.”

What has been most rewarding for me, as the instructor who has cheered them on through the act of writing, is that these essays are just a small sample of the excellent work every single student has produced. And, yes, there are many more student writings in the pipeline waiting their turn to appear in The Panama News.