| Noreen Shanahan is a published journalist, poet and memoirist who greatly values the restorative powers and pleasures of writing and art. She's passionate about hearing the stories of older adults and determined to have them told in a respectful, stimulating environment. Noreen has taught in Continuing Education at Ryerson and is also an editor and researcher of both fiction and non-fiction. She has an English B.A. from the University of Toronto and has also taken various writing and editing workshops. |
|
It was a pleasure to be part of this well-run class with many participants in their 80's and 90's. One of the oldest women said, I've always wanted to write about my mother and now I think I will start. I was greatly impressed with Noreen's facilitation skills and the respectful rapour of Noreen and her students... I am impressed with her commitment to her students and her eagerness to reflect on her work and to challenge herself and her students.
Sheila Stewart ...I found her helpful and encouraging. She gave sufficient content to help with the writing without being too directive. I have taken other such courses and was amazed at the progress made by the participants in a relatively short time. I would certainly take other courses with her and would encourage others interested in the subject to do the same. Noreen also provided written material, gave suggested readings and shared other material where appropriate.
Joan Solway I was impressed by her patience and encouragement to all people in expressing their life experiences. Past Forward Heritage Limited publishes oral/social history that reinforces the history of ordinary people. Noreen's work is a positive contribution to the people involved, both as a form of self esteem therapy and as a vehicle to record history that is quickly being lost.
Paul Mackey Noreen led the class of 14 through various exercises via challenging and interesting weekly assignments, followed by gentle and honest feedback the following week. By week three it was obvious we trusted each other, a feat possible only through a gentle and thoughtful instructor... It was also quite evident that Noreen put a tremendous amount of effort in research and thought outside of the classroom towards each weekly session, where she gave information supported by examples on the various aspects of writing personal pieces... By the end of the course the improvement in the quality of the writings was noticeable. Equally important, the confidence of the students in their ability to write and within themselves was clearly apparent in each individual... Noreen Shanahan is a fabulous teacher and human being and would be a credit to any course or project.
Althea Kaye Ms. Shanahan is a natural-born teacher. She loves her subject and transmits this enthusiasm to her students. There was a marked improvement in each of the participant's autobiographical sketches as the week progressed. I recommend her highly without hesitation.
Jane Donnelly I found Ms. Shanahan to be an organized teacher. She was always extremely well prepared. She told us what she was going to do, she did it, and then we were able to discuss it. She was enthusiastic about writing in general and challenged the class with this enthusiasm. Ms Shanahan left time at the end of each class for a reading. She reads very well. This reading sparked interest to broaden our knowledge of authors. As a personal note, I will say that I did everything possible to clear my schedule so that I would not miss one of her classes.
Catherine M. Hogg She challenged us with good "story starter" ideas. She and our fellow classmates gave us feedback on our writings. I found this critiquing very useful. Then I hired Noreen to edit my stories; this was a very positive experience.
Marjorie Cripps |