Ian Sherman – former ’valley’ guy (totally!), writing mentor, OC instructor
“My students often joke that they pick up the use of “Totally” from me. I use it far more frequently than an English instructor should.”
You seem to have had an interesting childhood.
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Silver City, Nevada, a town of 150 in northern Nevada. About equal portion mining shack and house, it’s mostly populated by hermits and old hippies. When I was just a year old, my parents and I were in a pretty bad car wreck. It was a Gremlin; I’m not sure Gremlins ever had any good car wrecks.
Anyway, there was a pretty big monetary settlement (at least for a hippie family) –$3,000 dollars, mostly due to some minor head injuries I received. It turned out to be enough money to buy three acres of land in Silver City and an old foursquare up on blocks in Dayton, down the ravine from us. This was bigger than the house my parents lived in when I was born: an old converted train car down on Peddler Road. Our neighbors lived in a converted school bus; my friend Buffy and her family would spend their summers in a teepee in American Forks.
Where was your first teaching job and when did you start teaching at Olympic College?
After I graduated from college, I tracked down a job teaching English in a city just outside of Moscow, Russia called Zheleznodorozhny. It took me about two weeks to remember the town’s name. Turns out, it just means “Railroad.” I worked there for about three months before transferring into central Moscow.
After a little over a year living in Russia, I moved to Istanbul. I lived there for about six months on the Europe side of the city, with a balcony that saw across the Bosphorus (a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia). From there, I moved to Seattle for grad school. At the University of Washington I studied creative writing; I graduated in 2003 and have been teaching since then. I started at OC in the fall of 2007.
What classes do you teach at OC?
I teach English 101/102 and the creative writing courses. I also teach two learning communities with Michael Prince: “The Marketplace of Ideas,” English 101 together with Communication Studies 102 and General Studies 105, and “Camera Obscura,” English 102 together with Communication Studies 105 and General Studies 130. Both classes focus on the critical consumption of mass media; Camera Obscura also gives students the chance to look at photography from the perspectives of critical studies and journalism.
Can you tell us a little more about your background? How has your teaching been influenced by where you grew up?
My students often joke that they pick up the use of “Totally” from me. I use it far more frequently than an English instructor should. But I grew up close enough to California’s central valley to have acquired quite a lot of “Valley” in my own speech. In Northern Nevada our accents were remarkably similar to Californians; but we didn’t speak as quickly, because we weren’t that smart.
What do you enjoy about teaching at the college?
Our classes have become feeder programs for The Olympian, Olympic College’s award-winning student newspaper. It’s been really rewarding to see several of my students join the learning communities without much direction or focus and leave the class with a passion for news and reporting. Many of them are now key members of the Olympian staff.
I’ve also really enjoyed the chance to develop OC’s creative writing program. On the horizon for Olympic College: a fully-developed reading series and an arts and literature journal.
I took Ian’s class last summer quarter- I vividly remember him leaning up against the whiteboard, hand under chin saying, “Totally, totally”. Haha- Its my favorite class I’ve taken so far!
Thanks posting a comment Jason!
What’s funny is that I took both English 101 and 102 with Ian, and I have the same memory of him. Have you noticed he never just says it once? He always says it twice in a row, with his hand under his chin and his other arm crossed in front of him.
I love his classes. I even waited a year and half to take 102 with him. If you every get the opportunity to take any class at OC, I always recommend Ian’s classes. No matter what, you will leave happy and inspired.
Thanks for posting Lauren!
I know he did have that stance and the chin rubbing thing down pat…I miss the learning communitites, they were so much fun…
There is no way to describe the amount of fun that I had in Ian’s class last summer. I dreaded the idea of having to take English. I do have to say, I am totally waiting til I see his name next to an English 102 class. He makes learning fun and when he combined it with current events it seemed more relevant.
If you have the chance to take a class with Ian, it defiantly is well worth the time.
There are few people that I am going to remember after having graduated and Ian totally is one of them.
Thanks Ian!!!! you are totally awesome!
Thanks for posting a comment Kindra!
I have taken English 101 and 102 with Ian and it was such an interesting class. I enjoyed his style and method of teaching and wish that he taught other studies here… Ian makes learning fun and challenging at the same time…He always ask you to elaborate more on what you are trying to convey, helping a person to enhance on their critical thinking skills…I miss him and Michael Prince they are a great team….
Thanks for posting a comment Cynthia!
I totally agree!
My first class at OC was the first offering of Marketplace of Ideas in the fall of ’09~that class is still my all time favorite! What a great way to begin my college experience! Sherman and Prince independently are great instructors. Together they are even better !
Thank you OC!
Thank you for posting your comments.
English is to me like brocolli, kindof bland. However it is much better with cheese. I would like to thank Ian for being the cheese.
That is fantastic! Thanks for posting Brandon! Have a great day!
I took English 101 with in in the summer of 2010. I totally enjoyed his teaching style. He really opened my eyes to the world of English. Currently, I am going for an English major. His class showed me that I had talent in writing. The Olympian even invited me to write with them the following quarter, sadly I had to return to High School. That’s what you get for being running start! Now I am out of High School and hoping to take more classes with him and maybe even get into writing for the Olympian. Thanks Ian!
Thanks for posting Josh!
I really enjoyed Ian’s class English 101. I love how he would say ” Tell me more about that”
Thanks Ian.
Thanks for posting your comment Teresa.
I’m so happy to see this here! I had Ian for ENGL 102 my sophomore year in Fall 08, and it remains my favorite class I’ve ever had at either OC or UW. I learned so much that quarter.
No matter what topic a student was writing an essay on, Ian instantly could recall dozens of sources and papers off the top of his head. I swear you could pluck the most esoteric subject out of thin air and he was already knowledgeable about what you were talking about AND could recommend further reading for your research.
Go Ian!
Cool. Thanks for posting Jon!
I was very excited to receive “The View” and see Ian on the front cover. I even brought it to work to show everyone the teacher I had been talking about for so long.
I, like others, dreaded taking English. He changed my whole attitude. He had a great way of communicating with everyone and making them feel involved in the class. I hope everyone gets to experience his teaching sometime throughout their learning at OC. He “totally” deserves all the credit he is receiving right now!
Thank you for posting your comment Michelle.