If I had been an eighteen-year-old having college paid for by my parents, I might not have cared so much about the quality of teaching at The New School.  But when I had Alexandra Shelley for a short story workshop, I was a returning student with a full-time job, a baby on the way, and I was paying for school myself and I needed each class to go a long way. The workshop I took with Alexandra was the best value and the most important experience of my time at the New School.

Alexandra lived up to the great reputation that she has in the Writing Program. She was prepared, funny, available, enthusiastic and creative with her criticism. She provided a wide range of writers for us to consider and we all found something to inspire us.

Because of her choice of readings and the challenging assignments that asked us to react to the readings, I came away with the beginning of more great stories from her class than from any other workshop. The class dynamic she created was inspiring, she was as encouraging and demanding to the worst of us as she was to the class stars. She insisted on everybody's participation and it resulted in inspired criticism, original new directions and a great amount of confidence not only in my ability to write but in my ability to be critical.

Alexandra was the best teacher I had at the New School and, considering the overall quality of the teachers, that's saying a lot. 

-Sara Wooster
Author, Painting Can Save Your Life: How and Why we Paint