When Michael Meyer went to college as a first-generation undergraduate student, his professors taught him pivotal lessons that shaped how he viewed the world. Now, as an English professor at Pitt, Meyer takes advantage of his opportunity to pass this lesson on to his own students.
“I was extraordinarily fortunate that I had teachers that pushed us to read widely as much as we wrote,” Meyer said. “These teachers did not believe that you should write what you know — which was often said in writing classes — but that you should write to find things out. You should write about what you don’t know.”
Meyer, who is also a Professor of English; electus faculty fellow in the Honors College, teaches honors nonfiction writing courses at Pitt. His list of journalistic accomplishments is extensive and intimidating, but the dedication he has for his students and his passion for the art of writing makes him stand out.
Pitt recently recognized his contributions by awarding him the Provost’s Award for mentoring undergraduate students as a professor.
In his Honors Special Topics course, “Becoming a Better Writer,” Meyers curates the class work around his students’ wants and needs. Meyer creates his syllabus by letting his current students pick 15 books that they’ll read and later write a personal essay on, mimicking the text’s authorial style.
Luke McCartney, a first-year economics and politics and philosophy double-major enrolled in Meyer’s Special Topics non-fiction writing course, explains Meyer’s essay-writing process as “paint[ing] the pear.”
“We do these imitation exercises called ‘paint the pear.’ [Meyer] was talking about [Paul] Cezanne, [who] has so many portraits of pears because he could never master replicating what a pear looks like,” McCartney explained. “Professor Meyer basically took that, and [applied it to writing.] We find a page or two in the books we’re reading and replicate what the author does.”
Samantha Erez, a sophomore Spanish and sociology major who took an Honors Intro to Creative Writing course with Meyer last fall, explained this process further. Outside of class, students read an assigned book and write an essay. Before attending class, these essays are shared, and students read their classmates’ work.
During class, students share comments on each other’s pieces in a communal peer-review as Meyer presents them on the front board. This practice helps many of Meyer’s students understand how to share their own stories in a way that is accessible to strangers.
In Meyer’s classes, students learn to combine creative essays with academic research. Keira Giacometti, a sophomore political science major, is taking her second course with Meyer — an Honors Special Topics course coined “Becoming a Better Writer.” Giacometti noted that before his course, she did not know how to connect her personal stories with research. Now, under Professor Meyer’s guidance, she’s been inspired to pursue a Bachelor of Philosophy degree.
Meyer connects many of his students to research opportunities they may otherwise be unaware of and exposes them to any non-classroom education he knows about, which may further their education.
“Every time I walk into that class, he has some type of article up or opportunity, fellowship, award, and he’s like, ‘You guys should look into this,’” McCartney said.
Meyer presents these opportunities because he thinks there is a crucial difference between “school” and an “education.”
“Make sure that school does not get in the way of your education,” Meyer said. “The things you do in the classroom only reflect part of your learning.”
School is what students do in the classroom, the hours of work assigned and potentially tedious tasks that eat up free time, according to Meyer. Education, on the other hand, involves “friendships, internships and your own interests.”
Meyer was taught this sentiment as an undergraduate education student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education and wrote for student newspapers at his college to explore his passion for journalism. For Meyer, an undergraduate education is not necessarily about becoming an expert in a field, but learning about oneself and what future inspires them.
“Undergraduate education should be about deciding what you don’t want to do with your life and your career,” Meyer said. “The thoughts and feelings you have at age 18 are probably going to be quite similar to the thoughts and feelings you have when you’re 50.”
After receiving his Bachelor of science in education, Meyer traveled to China as one of their first peace corps volunteers, where he taught English. He went on to write a trilogy of books about China, becoming a prime example of how experiences outside of the classroom are one of the most immersive parts of learning.
After these books, Meyer went on to publish two more non-fiction novels, one about Benjamin Franklin and one about the controversy surrounding a birth control pamphlet in Victorian London, which is currently being adapted into a film.
Along the way he gained more education in classrooms, achieving a Master of Arts in Education, completing Advanced Chinese studies at Tsinghua University, Beijing, and National Taiwan University, Taipei, and earning a Honorary Doctorate, from the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, Boston
Meyer encourages curiosity in his students — not just to figure out what they do or do not want to pursue — but because he knows young people are capable of great things, despite their minimal years of experience.
“You can create worthy, interesting work as an undergrad.” Meyer said. “[You should be] curious about something and willing to say, ‘What do I do with this curiosity?’”
And Meyer does not abandon his students after igniting their curiosity. One of Meyer’s past students, a first-generation college student like him, wrote “a really beautiful paper” for Meyers’s Readings in Contemporary Non-Fiction course. Of course, he later approached her to turn it into a Bachelor of Philosophy. He then helped her navigate research funding, writing the paper and using that paper to pursue a Fulbright application, which was successful.
McCartney expressed gratitude towards Meyer for recognizing when his students need a space to talk.
“Even if the situation is not something that is outwardly said, he can tell whenever people need extra time or whenever people need a space to talk. He’s a very charitable person,” McCartney said.
Empathy is a principle for Meyer, not just as a teacher, but as an intellectual and a person.
“To be an engaged and interesting human being, you have to be empathetic to other people, have intellectual ambition, and have curiosity,” Meyer said.
While Meyer is clearly passionate about teaching, his work extends beyond his immediate students. One of the things Meyer is most passionate about is his son, which is clear through the lock screen image on his laptop — his son at the museum — and the amount of times he mentions his son in class.
“He definitely loves his son a lot,” Giacommeti said. “I can’t think of one class where [he] doesn’t get mentioned.”
Meyer gained a new perspective on teaching from being a dad. Because teachers have the potential to inhibit curiosity through a rigorous, boring lesson plan, he repeatedly encourages his students and son to follow their fascinations beyond the classroom.
He repeatedly places himself and his students alongside other artists, including painters, musicians and filmmakers because, for him, writing is an “art form.” He urges his students to craft personal meaning in their writing and find their voice in storytelling, the same way other artists represent their own stories through painting, composing or dancing.
“Every assignment is a reflection of whatever you are feeling and want to write. [Meyer] is giving you a template, and you paint the portrait,” McCartney said.
Artists, including writers, are essential to society, according to Meyer. It is clear based on only a few anecdotes of his students that Meyer is not just an artist with the pen. He is an artist in educating the next generation of writers, who learn to take inspiration from those that came before them and write their own stories. Meyer’s unwavering support helps them reach the next chapter.
“Artists are bonkers and nuts, and we need them in our lives,” Meyer said.