I teach a non-fiction writing class at New York University, and one of my great pleasures is deciding on the syllabus.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
At my school, Shakespeare wasn't on the syllabus - at least not for me.
I teach for the Book Trust, which promotes reading and writing with children.
For example, many colleges in their writing programs teach some of my work.
I take care to only teach courses about fiction film. I believe that this balances and broadens my documentary work.
I obviously read and adore traditional fiction. I teach traditional fiction; I also teach all kinds of not-so-traditional fiction.
Teaching is a great complement to writing. It's very social and gets you out of your own head. It's also very optimistic. It renews itself every year - it's a renewable resource.
One of the first courses I ever taught at Dartmouth was on the Bible as literature.
There is a whole industry in America of people who want to write, and those who teach it. Even if the students don't end up writing, what's good about them taking the courses is, they become great readers, learning to appreciate the writing.
I have no formal training as a writer at all, not even a single English class in college. However, my adult books are all science fiction, which has some similarities to YA.
I teach a course in screenwriting at Columbia, but I've never taken a course and I've never read a book about it!