Posted by chicagomedia.org on July 26, 2009 at 08:51:22:
David W. Berner, former WMAQ-AM radio host and host at Canada's CKNW, now current Assistant Professor at Columbia College Chicago, has written a book about his life's "Lessons." From the Chicago Tribune:
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'Lessons' from the school of life
Julia Keller | CULTURAL CRITIC
July 26, 2009
Overnight, or so it seemed to David W. Berner, he lost everything: The 52-year-old Naperville resident was laid off from his job as a radio journalist, received word of his father's terminal illness and realized his marriage was over. So he started all over again, becoming a teacher at East Aurora High School, which he describes as "one of the Chicago area's most troubled," filled with "difficult, sometimes unruly students, some with histories of violence or neglect."
Berner (davidberner.com), father of two sons, wrote "Accidental Lessons: A Memoir of a Rookie Teacher and a Life Renewed" (Strategic) about his experiences.
Here's an edited transcript of a conversation with Berner, who, since leaving East Aurora, has been teaching at Columbia College Chicago:
Q. Writing a memoir is difficult, isn't it?
A. Yes. First, I had no plans for writing this. I'd come back from teaching at East Aurora, and tell my family stories about it. I had a lot of people tell me, "Are you writing this down?" I began to write it down, feeling obligated. I thought, "Maybe I should be more formal about it." I was slightly reluctant, being from the journalism world, to open myself up like that. I knew I had to be honest. Go deep. You have to go deep, to get to the good stuff.
Q. What was your writing process?
A. I found a pattern. I'd get up really early on Saturday and Sunday. I'd work for several hours -- sometimes at home, sometimes at Starbucks. I'd be very uncritical of myself at that time. I'd just write. I had a fairly rough outline, but it wasn't really worked out. I just knew where I wanted to go. One thing I found when I started to write it: It wasn't a teacher's story. It was about rediscovering yourself. Finding a new passion.
Q. Have you heard from your former students?
A. Oh, yes. And from the teachers [laughs]. One of them, I've heard, wasn't too happy.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. Essays on fatherhood. About fathers and sons. And I just started on a novel. Very daunting -- as a journalist, I never had to make stuff up.