'No Limits' is too much freedom for some

I kept wondering what was wrong with the other students in the Creative Writing class I am taking. I was so excited that first day in class that I could hardly stand it. "No limits as to subject," the professor said. "No limits as to length," he also said. "No limits as to form," I heard the man actually say.

In class we had been given no limit as to the maximum number of papers that we could submit. The professor is willing to read everything we turn in and give us suggestions on how to make it better. This process can even be iterative for the length of the class. No one-shot-only here! We get multiple shots with a trainer on hand to correct our handling and aim. There is, however, a minimum of 5. If more than 5 are submitted, he will select the top five to grade. The question I ask is, "How many students will take advantage of this and turn in more than 5?" (I've already done all my work, turned it in and am still writing every week).

There is no length requirement. The student is able to use as much space or as little space as they choose to convey their message. This causes me to ask, "How many will choose to tackle the larger tasks?" Dashing off a poem with ten lines can be easier than trying to write a play! (note I said "can" be).

There is no demand to make whatever we choose to write about fit into a particular form. If we are more comfortable with plays, then we can write scene after scene or act after act with never a worry that we didn't write a poem. On the other hand, if we have never written a poem or a play, we have the opportunity to explore either or both without fear of it affecting our grade, because we can make up the difference by submitting 5 pieces in a form with which we are more familiar and possibly more adept at using.

So I keep asking myself, what good is all this "freedom" to a mind that can't deal with it? The comments I heard the first several classes were, "I don't know what he wants" and "Why can't he just tell us how long to make it?" Iasked questions, too. What's the cause of their discomfort? Or their anger? If education is about exploring, discovery, learning and eventual mastery, shouldn't we be focusing on the subject and not the grade? We may have learned in the past that to "do what he wants" will ensure us at least a shot at a decent grade. But where's the spirit of revolution, the spirit of independence that is practically a college student's credo? How about "seizing the day" -- doing what I want? I've been given the freedom - there are no limits. So why on earth is anyone still saying, "How can I do what I'm supposed to do, if someone doesn't tell me what that is?" My advice is: quit looking for the limits - the parameters - the bars on the cage. Set yourself free!

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