Former Freed student checks in

Over at the thread on the Chronicle of Higher Education's website, a former student of Freed Screed author Lynn Freed writes she was "hands down, the worst teacher of any kind I have ever had."

She obviously cared not a bit about her job or her students. She arrived by plane once a week, obviously read our stories while in transit and scribbled minimal, formulaic comments on them. In class, we were often treated to her reading aloud from Alice Munro for half an hour at a time. Failing this, she would assign bizarre and inappropriate in-class writing exercises.

The situation got so bad that we tried to organize a strike against her, but there were several meek students who prevented this.

I've had a lot of great writing teachers and a few mediocre ones, but Lynn Freed was the only one who was actually bad. Professors are under no obligation to be kind, caring or supportive--though they ought to be--but Lynn Freed was rude, dismissive and insulting. She quite obviously had no intention of doing the job she was paid for, which is unarguably bad practice.

Just one former student, and to be fair, I have a friend who had Freed for a summer workshop and thought she was great.

Lynn Freed, Freed Screed, creative writing gulag