Blame My Brother, and His Booze

Creative Writing... Well, the first problem is in the name. See, the class should be called Writing 101. You can tell by listening to the teacher's method. The teacher's kinda emphasizing a very basic meat and potatoes approach to writing. She wants every single person in the class to reach a certain level, and doesn't let the rest of the class advance until the last person can write a competent paragraph.

I understand her rational - it is important to learn the basics of writing.

However, at some point we need to get past things like endless repetitions of the phrase "show not tell".

Perhaps we could discuss techniques, developing a style, subtler points of the whole writing business.

Also, what's with her critique of our writing? I got a mediocre little four paragraph essay back from her a few weeks ago. The only commentary was the word "good" written next to the first, second, and third paragraphs. I'm not sure why the fourth paragraph isn't good - perhaps she just got tired of writing?

I'm not saying I'm a great writer. I think of myself as a basically competent hobbyist. Sometimes, I get an interesting turn of word or phrase. Despite my mediocre writing, I'm pretty damn sure I can tell when a teacher is teaching well. As a college student, it's a subject I'm particularly attuned to.

A teacher's job is to inspire her students. I don't feel inspired. I feel disgusted, bored, and apathetic.