A few weeks ago, this article by Ryan Boudinot got the writing world up in arms. In it Boudinot lists eight things about MFA’s that he can now say since he no longer teaches in one of these programs. While the article is harsh, it’s not ground-breaking. Newsflash: writing is hard and some people will hate your work. Not exactly front-page news.

What got under people’s skin was probably not so much the tough “truths” that Boudinot spouts, but his attitude as a writing teacher. Since this essay first appeared, there have been numerous responses, including the website ryanboudinot.com that aggregates these follow-up pieces. Most recently, senior writer for Salon.com Laura Miller published a focused and in-depth response to the original piece. Her take-home message is that while there may be some truth in what Boudinot says about his experience as a teacher, his snarky attitude is out of line.

I couldn’t agree more.

Teaching Writing Is a Privilege

Here’s the thing about teaching writing: while it may not bring you gold or glory, it is perhaps the most important job a person can choose. Whether you teach toddlers to grip their crayons and shape their first letters, or you teach graduate seminars on postmodern literature, you are teaching people to write, communicate, record their thoughts and ideas on the page. Teaching is a noble art and nothing infuriates me more than people who debase it. Sometimes these people are the teachers themselves.

Teaching writing is not some sort of sacrifice or a form of martyrdom. It’s a privilege. It’s not a side-gig you do until you “make it” as a writer. It’s not a fall-back plan if the writing thing doesn’t work out. This notion that teaching is somehow second to the writing is completely backwards. Teaching should come first. True teachers moonlight as writers, not the other way around. And any teacher who thinks otherwise should seriously reconsider her career choice.

We Don’t Need Rejection From Our Teachers

As a subject, writing is particularly sensitive to an instructor’s hand. If teachers are not careful they can squelch a young writer before she even finds her footing. In an industry fraught with rejection and broken dreams, the last thing a writer needs is to get slammed down by a teacher. We writers get enough rejection as it is, thank you very much.

I know this first-hand because it happened to me. Not once, but twice in fact.

The first time was in a grade school, when the powers-that-be put me in a remedial English class because I was bilingual. According to the so-called experts at this school, although I was a perfectly capable student, the fact that my first language was not English meant I had a learning disability. Years later, research came out contradicting this stupidity and the head of that elementary school even went so far as to issue me and my family a formal apology. Still, the damage to my confidence as a writer had been done.

The real blow, however, happened in college. It was in my senior spring semester and decided to enroll in a fiction writing seminar. I thought this would be a fun way to round out my English major and take on a new creative challenge. Instead, what I got was a professor who created a hostile and competitive environment in the classroom. Students would undercut each other and tear down each other’s work so that they could get praise from this so-called brilliant scholar. That semester I learned nothing about writing fiction. Instead, I became so uncertain about my abilities that I did not put a pen to the page for seven–yes, seven–years after taking that class.

When I finally got my head back on straight, I decided that I would work day and night to get good at my writing, but more importantly, I would become the best damn writing teacher I could be. Maybe I had to suffer at the hand of a few lousy teachers in my own life, but I could protect other writers from similar monsters. Writing belongs to everyone, after all. And every writer–regardless of “talent” and “potential”–deserves a chance to find her voice, and tell her story. The latter has become my personal mission.

Of course, I’m not saying that all writers are destined to craft a bestselling series or win a Pulitzer Prize. For many, success means writing the story they have in their hearts, recording their life to share with their grandkids, or finally seeing their name in a byline. Success comes in all flavors and it’s not the teacher’s job to define what the “Real Deal” means for their students. A good teacher helps students inch toward their goals no matter what they may be. A good teacher fans the creative flame and motivates students to do their best work. And yes, a good teacher must sometimes give out a healthy reality check, but that should never come as public humiliation, however anonymous those comments may be.

This has been my core philosophy and the inspiration behind DIY MFA. I founded this program to empower the disenfranchised writers of the world, the writers who might not be “good enough” or “literary enough” for a traditional MFA, but who still love to write and want to share their stories. The MFA is not for everyone, and according to Boudinot even most MFA students don’t qualify as the “Real Deal” (at least not by his narrow definition). So, if a writer doesn’t fit into his tidy little box, what is she supposed to do… give up and stop writing altogether?

Hell no.

E Tu, Brute?

When Boudinot rails against his less-spectacular students, he breaks that sacred teacher-student bond. He does the same thing to his students that was done to me years ago: he silences their voices for his own narcissistic purposes.

I founded DIY MFA because I was done letting other people scare me into silence. No longer would I let someone else define what success meant to me. And dammit, above all else I was going to write. Will you join me in this crusade? Teachers like Boudinot only have power over us if we give it to them. It’s time we writers took that power back.

Don’t Give Up Hope

Before I close, I want to speak to all the writers out there who have been slammed down by a horrible writing teacher in the past. First, know that you are not alone. I’m right there with you, and as you can tell from this post, I’m mad as hell.

Second, don’t let these posers get you down. They’re not real teachers.

Real teachers honor and respect their students. They know when to offer encouragement and when to dole out “tough love.” Real teachers understand that learning is not one-size-fits-all. They encourage curiosity and help students develop in their own unique ways. Real teachers don’t see diverse skills or new ideas as “problems.” They relish the differences between their students and help them find their individual paths.

If you’re brave enough to put your words on the page and to share the story that’s in your heart, you are the “Real Deal.” Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Keep fighting the good fight, and remember that I’m in your corner.

P.S. This post is dedicated to all the REAL teachers in my life: Mrs. N., Mr. W, Mrs. T, and Prof. L. They gave me the strength and courage to follow my “crazy” ideas wherever they might lead so I could make an impact on the world. While I can never repay this gift, my hope is to pay it forward and help my own students do the same.