‘Perhaps nature really does affect you that way.’ A comment scrawled in red on my second-year English essay. I can’t remember what the direction had been, but I’d chosen to write about my love of nature. The piece was descriptive, I remember that much. And I also remember the hurt at exposing myself and being rebuffed.
I can relate to a lot of this, I always loved nature but didn't like outdoor sports.
Teachers really should be more sensitive to people, particularly when teaching creative writing, where you should be encouraging self-expression and a lot of writing is quite personal.
I suspect teachers may be more sensitive to nature and self-expression these days, at least I hope so. She was a decent teacher and an encourager generally, but definitely felt emotions and the natural world were not part of her creative writing remit. A shame. I was definitely more cautious after the experience.
I think most teachers certainly are, though even these days I hear of some creative writing tutors who aren't exactly entirely supportive of people's writing. It's sad that the experience made you more cautious
What a lovely article. Funny we never discussed this as those 19 year olds even though we went cycling all over! I must have taken it for granted you felt the same as I did about nature. As you know, I’m technically a Londoner as I was born there and from a line of Londoners on one side, but having moved (or been moved) to the countryside as a baby, think of myself firmly as a country mouse. I remember visiting you once and feeling trapped by the urban. The thought of Richmond Park didn’t help - it was country trapped inside city whereas I was used to being in towns and villages surrounded by country. I have a London friend however, who when I describe staying in remote cottages, says the thought genuinely terrifies her after a lifetime in a city. Oddly, despite a shared loathing of school sports, I did enjoy cross country. However that was because it was in the country, and it was unsupervised, and only three of us actually did it (rather than hide in the woods till the end of the lesson) so I actually sometimes came first or second (I think we took it in turns). The teacher must have guessed but perhaps liked the break. I can’t remember writing about nature in secondary school either. Not after first year anyway. NB clouds really do collide. It’s a scientific fact. That’s how thunder and lightning happens. They bump into each other (noise) then one smacks the other for not looking where they’re going (lightning). I know this is true cos my dad told me!
I loved our cycle rides - truly a breath of fresh air. We talked about all sorts, but I guess love of the natural world was assumed - taken as a given.
I find travelling to the south really hard these days. Anywhere built up gives me claustrophobia, but then I’ve not been in London for 35 years. Hampshire and Wiltshire were at least countryside, but even they seem crowded by housing now.
Most politicians, sadly are totally town-centric and have little appreciation of the natural world.
I can relate to a lot of this, I always loved nature but didn't like outdoor sports.
Teachers really should be more sensitive to people, particularly when teaching creative writing, where you should be encouraging self-expression and a lot of writing is quite personal.
Thanks, Juliet.
I suspect teachers may be more sensitive to nature and self-expression these days, at least I hope so. She was a decent teacher and an encourager generally, but definitely felt emotions and the natural world were not part of her creative writing remit. A shame. I was definitely more cautious after the experience.
I think most teachers certainly are, though even these days I hear of some creative writing tutors who aren't exactly entirely supportive of people's writing. It's sad that the experience made you more cautious
Aye. Suspect I’m making up for it now though!
What a lovely article. Funny we never discussed this as those 19 year olds even though we went cycling all over! I must have taken it for granted you felt the same as I did about nature. As you know, I’m technically a Londoner as I was born there and from a line of Londoners on one side, but having moved (or been moved) to the countryside as a baby, think of myself firmly as a country mouse. I remember visiting you once and feeling trapped by the urban. The thought of Richmond Park didn’t help - it was country trapped inside city whereas I was used to being in towns and villages surrounded by country. I have a London friend however, who when I describe staying in remote cottages, says the thought genuinely terrifies her after a lifetime in a city. Oddly, despite a shared loathing of school sports, I did enjoy cross country. However that was because it was in the country, and it was unsupervised, and only three of us actually did it (rather than hide in the woods till the end of the lesson) so I actually sometimes came first or second (I think we took it in turns). The teacher must have guessed but perhaps liked the break. I can’t remember writing about nature in secondary school either. Not after first year anyway. NB clouds really do collide. It’s a scientific fact. That’s how thunder and lightning happens. They bump into each other (noise) then one smacks the other for not looking where they’re going (lightning). I know this is true cos my dad told me!
I loved our cycle rides - truly a breath of fresh air. We talked about all sorts, but I guess love of the natural world was assumed - taken as a given.
I find travelling to the south really hard these days. Anywhere built up gives me claustrophobia, but then I’ve not been in London for 35 years. Hampshire and Wiltshire were at least countryside, but even they seem crowded by housing now.
Most politicians, sadly are totally town-centric and have little appreciation of the natural world.