Grade 9 student asking about Orson Scott Card’s writing habits. (Photo source: Matthew Kloosterman)
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Orson Scott Card, a renowned science fiction author, remotely visited an International Baccalaureate (IB) school in Shenzhen, China. Our students had the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session with the author, and our Grade 9 English language and literature students studied his work, Ender’s Game.
This author's visit is just one of the many ways in which international schools strive to provide students with authentic learning experiences that bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world.
In the hopes of sharing his wisdom and insight, here are some questions that our students asked along with Orson Scott Card’s answers:
Orson Scott Card’s insights into AI reinforced the idea that AI is just a tool to be used in the writing industry and not a replacement for human wordsmithing. This is similar to how educators and the IB view AI, where it is a tool and not a replacement. Orson Scott Card stated that humans write better than AI because we have emotions and feelings, which AI lacks.
Orson Scott Card recommends that MYP students read Anne Tyler (Back When We Were Grown Ups), Robert Cormier (I am the Cheese), Patricia McKillip (The Riddle-Master), and Isaac Asimov (I Robot and The Greeks; A Great Adventure).
Card’s response was that he writes when he is excited to tell the story and when he has something to write. He typically writes in three to four hour sessions and will usually write for two sessions a day. When the book is finished, he stops writing and breaks. He does not usually keep a regular schedule.
Card even stated that he sometimes pulls an all-nighter just to throw off his regular schedule. He ended his response with a quip, stating that people should not follow in his footsteps when it comes to a writing routine.
Sci-fi writers imply everything and don’t necessarily state everything directly during world creation. This is how the writing gets grounded in some form of realism. For example, Ender’s Game started in Card’s hometown and then branched out from there. Card does not share everything about the world he designed, so it encourages readers to connect to reality themselves and see the connections from reality to sci-fi.
Card noted that he considers Unaccompanied Sonata, one of his earlier works, to be one of the best he has written. We immediately purchased this book for our students to have access to next school year.
After the event, we asked our students to reflect on the experience using Padlet. You can read our students' reflections by clicking here. The Padlet also includes questions that our students asked Orson Scott Card prior to the meeting.
One of our favorite quotes from a student’s reflection is:
“Mr. Card said that kids take themselves seriously. He really understands kids, and that is why he is able to write such great stories about them. Thank you, Mr. Card.”
This virtual author visit with Orson Scott Card gave our students memories that they will cherish for a lifetime. We hope his wisdom and the impact he had on our students can reach an even wider audience.
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Matthew Kloosterman has taught internationally for nearly a decade. Currently, he is a middle years program English language and literature teacher and assistant diploma coordinator at an IB school in Shenzhen, China.
Timothy Percevecz has been teaching internationally for 10 years. Specializing in visual arts and educational technology, he challenges students to see the infinite possibilities that the arts bring, and he enjoys the intersections where the arts and technology meet. He is currently teaching in Shenzhen, China.
