Valerie Nieman v. 3.0

I was trying to explain the Folk School experience to a friend the other day. How nourishing it is, how you learn within the classroom and over meals and on rambles across the mountain landscape. How it is a place apart that returns you to the world restored. I am anticipating my return in July as both a teacher and then a student. In this interview for the John C. Campbell website, I talk about teaching and learning in a noncompetitive environment. http://blog.folkschool.org/2015/03/03/discovering-author-valerie-nieman

What a St. Patrick's Day... My senior seminar class for creative writing is held in a small library, and today a student asked to be allowed to stay there and read during the session. At the end, he asked, "What is this class," and we told him. Then he asked, "Can I come back and attend the class? It's so interesting!" Yes, of course, we said. He won't get any course credit, but that didn't seem to matter. Bless you, Andre - a moment like that can keep a teacher going for years. Better energy than uranium. Then... The first shipment of Blood Clay arrived.... Then... I saw a flock of cedar waxwings down the street, wonderful to run into these nomads, so quickly present and gone, so quiet in their discussions as they fed.