As a cognizant person and as a seasoned college teacher of everything from advanced poetry seminars to introductory literature surveys to remedial reading and writing classes, I am painfully aware of the damage that can be done by forcing anyone to read or write, and particularly by forcing them to do so in an imposed manner. As a human being for whom reading and writing have been salvation, inspiration, and wayfinder since earliest childhood, I would never want to do anything to separate another person from their own idiosyncratic claim to the songs and stories resident in all of us and in the very air we breathe.

In my history, literature, and writing classes for kids, I give students notebooks in which to write. These are looseleaf. They decorate them and title them as they wish. I do not direct this writing. It does not have to be in a certain style nor does it have to be in a certain amount; neither does it need to obviously relate to what we are studying in class: I trust that it does. 

I certainly do not expect them to parrot back information. Instead, together, we create context for their writing. I bring materials and information, and so do they. 

They sparkle and brim with insight and observation....conversations get lively, and so do play and crafts. It is self- and group-directed and it is expansive. Sometimes I am answering three individual, multi-level questions about spelling or grammar or paragraph construction, or rhyme or phrasing, at once. Sometimes I am letting them know about literary forms, theories, and terms, or historical events, that relate to what they are observing or making. Sometimes they are letting me know. Everyone is learning. Everyone is engaged. Everyone is inventive. 

We validate and expand each other's comprehension, skill, and experience. 

This is inhabiting a living literature, a co-creative historical and cultural context, matrix. It is beautiful and I am so grateful to be able to do and share this work.

Love, Elizabeth ("Teacher")

My 20th Century, Fall 2014: Woolf, Frame, & Dunn

In this class we will consider the works of Virginia Woolf (UK, 1882-1941), Janet Frame (NZ, 1924-2004), and Katherine Dunn (US, 1945-) as a scaffolding via which to understand some traditions of fiction in English over the course of the twentieth century. We will consider the density and magic resident in their prose, the resonances amidst their subjects, styles, and themes, and the ways in which their works carry histories forward.

"dig out some of that candy" -- K. Dunn, Truck (1971)

Class meets online Tues/Thurs, with further potential drop-in conversation in between, September 23 - December 18. All readings and all forms of response are suggested rather than required. Cost $325.

Poetry Collocution

In this class we will speak and work together in support of your writing practice.

Conversation will be lively and inspiring -- it's amazing how much can happen in a season if you commit to a regular practice and open to a community of peers. Class will include writing exercises and prompts as well as strong individualized support for each participant. We will also engage with the works of other writers and artists.

Class meets online Tues/Thurs, with further potential drop-in conversation in between, and an individual meeting to discuss your full season's work in early December (in person or via Skype/email). September 23 - December 18. Cost $325.

About the instructor, Elizabeth Treadwell. 

Reviews.

To register, please contact Elizabeth.

We are happy to let you know of our upcoming offerings for homeschoolers and preschoolers.  

All classes provide rich, lively opportunities for understanding and integrating literature, and her cousin history, into our lives. These include creative response in a variety of media as well as research and writing stemming from the topics at hand. 

Classes are small, with strong individualized support for each student. All classes incorporate the development of fluency in reading and writing, according to the ages, abilities, and interests of the children. The development of this fluency (and joy!) will happen in a variety of ways depending upon the class; please see course descriptions below.

Works & Lives (ages 7 & up)
Studying & responding to the lives & works of artists & other cultural workers, as well as their historical contexts. In Early Fall 2014, we will study dancer & choreographer Alvin Ailey, dancer Maria Tallchief, actress & filmmaker Ida Lupino, pilot Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, writer Lois Lenski, and humorist Will Rogers, among others. Wednesdays, 10 am - 1 pm, August 27, September 3, 10, 17. $150.

Rhymes & Adventures (ages 3 & up)
We will get a sense of the history and liveliness of literature by interacting with numerous versions of selected fairy tales, songs, and rhymes. We will explore the realms of fan fiction, narration, illustration, & dioramas. We will make our own versions of inherited stories and songs; we will envision sequels and extensions. We will read and play and make and write, creating and inhabiting our own rhymes and adventures. Thursdays, 10 am - noon, August 28, September 4, 11, 18. $100.


About the instructor, Elizabeth Treadwell.

Reviews.

To register, please contact Elizabeth.

These female luminaries seem to understand the importance in education of privacy and revelation, while recognizing the inherent separatism long enforced by male-dominated culture... .

For women to learn the practical and emotional skills to create, they must do so on their own too... .

Instead of asking young women to Lean In, the artists and musicians behind this project instead ask women to peace out: to create their own space, create their own art, create their own voice. School of Doodle offers a striking alternative to the newest iteration of mainstream feminist discourse, which insists that women not only sit at the table with men, but put themselves at the head of it. School of Doodle asks women to not only forgo the table, but to flip it on their way out the door.