Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Exercise, Discipline, Affection

It may come as no surprise that over here at Walking the Dog, we're big fans of the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. Every segment of his show is a ballet in three acts, and most of his precepts have application beyond the troubled dogs he rehabilitates and the owners he trains. My favorite is his advice about personal energy-- he encourages a calm assertive attitude in any who hope to be the pack leader. As hesitant as I am to compare children to dogs, in my experience, this notion translates directly to the classroom where a balanced teacher creates a balanced class.

Any who are familiar with his show know that Cesar's primary mantra for producing a good dog is exercise, discipline, affection. I've found the same to be true when it comes to taming my writing skills: daily exercise strengthens fluency, words on the page provide an opportunity to apply the craft of our discipline, and the affection? Well, to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, when I'm all done for the day, I may hate writing, but I love having written.

3 comments:

  1. Kate Dicamillo told a former student of mine just about the same thing. She told him she hates writing, but loves knowing she's written a book.

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  2. I love your passions Tracey. I don't have any pets and that's fine but dogs, they are my downfall, but still no pets,
    Bonnie

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  3. Is that Dorothy that said that? I have muttered that mantra more than once, and I'm glad to know its origin.

    You, are the most amazingly dedicated writer out of us slicers, and kept going and going and going after last year, putting us all to shame. Of course, we were only jealous. So, you're on my blogroll and I'll follow you. I can't promise to be as regular as you are in the posting, but I'll give it a try.

    Love your writing--thanks for sharing with us!
    Elizabeth
    http://peninkpaper.blogspot.com/

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