The teacher files
S T O R Y A N D P H O T O B Y LILY S H A V E R
W riting classes are a requirem ent around here and
everyone has to take them. Knowing who you want as
a teacher can be difficult. This interview with English
instructor Ryan Davis highlights what he is about.
The Clackamas Print: How long have you been teaching
at Clackamas Community College?
Ryan Davis: I started as a part-tim er in 1997, and I’ve
been teaching full time since 2006.
TCP: Do you have any family?
RD: I do, I do, I’ m married and I have one son, w ho’ s 9.
TCP: What do you enjoy most about teaching English?
RD: I love to be able to share some of the worlds and my
own favorite authors with students in literature classes.
I love to help people find their confidence in composition
classes and their creative voice. I love being able to help
people just find what they want to express and the best
way to express it.
RD: I love to hang out with my son. It’ s always a big part
of my life, m y wife and son and I love to do activities
together whether it’ s going camping, hiking, just kind
of relaxing. We love to watch movies. I’ve been playing
a lot of Legos, ‘cause he’s 9 so that’s a guarantee.
o
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Co Editor-in-Chief
Andrew Koczian
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Megan McCoy
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News Editor
Saige Keikkala
TCP: What classes do you teach?
RD: W inter term , I’ m teaching Am erican Film which
is a cross-listed English and DMC class, which is open
to anyone. I’m teaching an online section of American
Literature 2, from the turn of the 20th century to the
present day. Then, in spring, I’m teaching one of our
creative writing classes, Creative Non-fiction. I’ m also
teaching Nature W riting, w hich is a really fun course
because we have the ability to come together as a class
and go out into nature for a weekend long camping trip,
which really fuels our, you know, ability to Write about
nature and our role in it? I’m also starting for the first
time ever, an African American Literature course here
on campus. It’ll be online.
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Blake Swan
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TCP: Who are your favorite authors?
RD: I’m a big fan of Raymond Carver, a poet and short
story writer. One of my favorite international writers is
Haruki Murakami from Japan.
TCP: So w hy do you like the writer from Japan?
RD: I lived in Japan for a fewyears and I was introduced to
that author while I was there. I don’t know if it did make a
difference or not, but being able to experience first-hand
som e of the types of situations, people and scenarios
that Murakami wrote about, it was very interesting to be
living those situations when I was reading about them
because it’ s totally foreign to you. So you’re able to just
notice all the things in another culture you m ight not
notice in your own.
TCP: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
RD: I always w elcom e anybody w h o ’ s never thought
about a writing class beyond 121 or 122 to consider it, and
creative writing, everybody has a voice inside them that
longs to tell a story. I would love to mention of the English
Departm ent’ s Associate o f Science Degree in English.
We have four concentrations in the A.S. degree: Creative
Writing, Literature, Comic Studies, and Publishing
This interview has been edited fo r clarity and space.
TCP: What would you call your teaching style?
RD: My teacher style is very collaborative. I do a little bit
of lecture and then I really like to open it up to questions
and answ ers and get students talkin g about their
interpretation of whatever topics. I just really like to get
students involved, and kind of have them, by answering
some of the questions that I offer them, allowing them
to kind of help shape and guide our discussions in class.
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TCP: Do you have any hobbies that you do outside o f
teaching?
RD: I’ve spent some time restoring a house I lived in and
sold. I’m not a craftsman, but I do a lot of craft projects in
terms o f like home restoration. TCP: Is there anything
that you like to do to relax and have fun?
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ON THE COVER: No. 2 player Kehaulani Macadangdang delivers the ball u p the field against Chemeketa on Oct. 21.
Photo by Austin Boltz. Cover design by Brandon Chorum.
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