Portrait of a Poet as a Teacher
As an English teacher at MSA, Dr. Andy Eaton cares less about the ideas he brings to class, and more about the ideas his students discover. Dr. Eaton prioritizes creating an environment where everyone is heard. When students are grappling with their words, he feels for the heart of their sentiment and sieves their muddy water, exposing the golden nuggets of wisdom his students did not realize they were about to stumble upon. He does more than just hearing someone speak; by absorbing his students’ beliefs as his own for a while, he keeps his students company in the discovery of their ideas. He guides them to expand on their convictions, offering the language of a seasoned mind if they need it.
It is no surprise that the man whose fruit of teaching stems from his ability to observe, also finds, at the center of his life, the art of paying attention, or crafting poems. Dr. Eaton smells out connections between the tiny, unnoticed things. He does not need a new subject or place to write something new; he lets himself simply be wherever he is, noticing what is right in front of him.
Read two of Dr. Eaton’s published works below.
Written by Ben Allen, Student-Editor of The Bell Tower Magazine