Writing is actually my specialty and my love.
I taught English in a private school for 8 years and then in a community college for 1. I LOVE teaching writing.
So why are there not writing lessons on the blog?
Because I'm going to have to write them all from scratch, and that takes a good deal more time than finding the best resources online and linking you to them (as I do for social studies and science lessons).
WHY am I going to have to write them from scratch?
Because writing education in this country is a mess. Everyone knows that people are hitting college and their careers unable to write well. Everyone knows it's important, especially now that we spend a good deal of time interacting online. So they've crammed writing into the curriculum in every other subject and are hoping that will work.
It doesn't.
Traditionally, teaching writing was all caught up in teaching grammar. This is a necessary part of learning to write, but knowing grammar doesn't teach you how to write. It simply gives you tools to be able to talk about words and sentences--it teaches the jargon for the discipline.
Contemporary writing education is all caught up in the same trap that Whole Language Reading and New Math have fallen into. Experts determined (rightly) that master readers, for example, don't use the same skills that new readers do. Fluent readers identify words more as wholes and by shape, rather than by phonetic structure. It's true, too. The problem was that they then determined that, because Master Readers don't use phonetics, we shouldn't teach it. A similar thing happened in math.
While this seems reasonable on the surface--teaching master skills rather than introductory skills that are, eventually (theoretically) eliminated from use--it doesn't work.
We could liken it to music. A master concert pianist may not use finger exercises every day. They may not study (or even remember) all their theory lessons. They don't necessarily play scales. But it's not because those things are unnecessary. It's because they have become second nature, like breathing. We don't think about breathing, but who would want to eliminate that from life? Likewise, I've heard master pianists say that you can't get that good without first mastering the fundamentals. A composer without any knowledge of music notation and theory MIGHT write a masterpiece as good as "The Messiah." But think how much MORE they could write if they knew notation. No composer is sitting there saying "Every Good Boy Does Fine....okay. The note goes there" on every note. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't learn that. Most, I'd guess, don't even tell themselves the names of the notes as they put them down. It doesn't mean they shouldn't know the names of the notes, even if you primarily compose by the sound of the notes.
It's a mistake to confuse LEARNING with KNOWING, and that's what's happened in education today. Teachers are trying to teach KNOWING without going through the LEARNING involved. And it just doesn't work, even if you understand the functions and behaviors of knowing. Even if you practice them. There is nothing that can substitute for Learning.
Imagine if we taught cooking without teaching first the fundamentals of measuring, cooking techniques, use of the tools, etc., and instead skipped right to "Great chefs use a pinch of this and a handful of that and don't write down their recipes". We'd have lessons on wafting scents toward your face properly in order to determine if the spice content was correct! Would kids know how to bake a basic loaf of bread? NO.
Part of the problem is that MOST students don't need to be master chefs. They need to be competent in the kitchen. Wafting won't help them nearly as much as "This is a measuring spoon." And will it hamper a great chef to learn those things, too? No. They might find it boring or second nature, but it won't hurt them to hear it.
So, back to writing.
There are two popular approaches to teaching writing: Grammar and Literature.
The problem is that neither of these approaches comes from an understanding of Writing.
Those who are talented at grammar, usage, punctuation, and sentence structure become EDITORS. Those who are talented at literature become TEACHERS or literary critics. Or they write incredibly unbearable "literary fiction" that is only read by other lovers of Literature education but not by regular people. None of those people are writers--and that is even one step removed from being a writing teacher/curriculum designer (since we all know that the greatest athletes don't necessarily make the greatest coaches; people who can do math can't necessarily teach you how to do it....)
Right now we either bog students down with skills that editors (not writers) need most, or we try the "master chef" approach on them and try to force them to intuit skills that authors of literary fiction use--and that most of us (even us writers) will NEVER need. (Of course, it's blasphemy to suggest this to people who value that kind of writing--they don't realize that they, the small cadre of teachers of "literature"--are the only people who find that valuable!) (Sorry if I've offended any of you. You offend me when you say that murder mysteries and other genre fiction are garbage and that I have no taste because I find some of them well written or--gasp--masterful.)
Either way, students come away as frustrated as if they'd been asked to guess how to do long division. They throw up their hands and say that writing is hard and go back to texting their friends in class and leaving silly comments on hit videos on YouTube. (Ironic, isn't it? They run from writing by writing.....).
When I started teaching remedial writing in the community college, my boss said, "Have them read a lot. The only way to teach writing is by reading a lot and then they'll just figure it out. Oh, and have them read other student work. That helps." This is the main thrust of writing classes today. (I, by the way, ignored her completely and taught using my skills-based approach as I always have. At the end of two semesters, they offered me a full-time job! My students came away knowing how to write.)
The problem is, if that worked, none of those students would have been in remedial writing. Most students can't be taught writing by "figuring it out" from reading. Understanding what you are reading and being able to write are two completely different skills. Additionally, having students read other student examples or each other's writing is actually extremely counter-productive. It's the blind leading the blind. I consider it laziness on the part of teachers and have never found it has ANY benefit for students and often does quite a lot of harm.
Professional authors DO read a lot and learn how to write by reading. When I am struggling with getting a specific result in my readers, I often turn to writers I respect and read what they've written and study how they did it. When I read to my children, I'm constantly taking notes on what the great authors did. I'm wafting. But I learned to write FIRST. I can't expect my elementary school children to successfully write that way. I am practicing KNOWING writing--they are LEARNING.
So, bottom line: Writing is a skill. It's a skill that people use with increasing frequency in this digital age. And everyone can learn to be competent, just like everyone can learn to make a decent boxed cake. But it has to be taught as a skill, not an art. YES writing can be an art. There are great writers out there. And they've become great writers DESPITE their education, not because of it. Imagine how much better they'd be (or how quicker they would have got to it) if they had been taught the skills first, when they were young.
Do most kids need to learn to write poetry and short stories, those staples of education? Um....no. Actually. No. They don't. It's fun. Kids enjoy using their imaginations, and that absolutely should be encouraged. But being able to write a good short story doesn't teach the skills kids need.
So what I'm working on now is compiling lists of what writing skills DO need to be taught (like writing comments on videos, writing emails to friends, writing emails to bosses, writing cover letters for job applications, writing descriptions, etc. etc. etc.) and creating both a writing and a separate literature program (different skills ought to be taught in different classes, quite frankly--nobody tries to teach chemistry and math in one class, even though they are related, so why are we teaching literature and writing in one class?).
The aim:
1. A writing class that teaches all facets of writing, from the traditional creative writing to an introduction to selling your writing, to practical, useful, everyday kind of writing, with an emphasis on mastering skills rather than discovering natural writing talent. I'm not worried about teaching writers how to write better--they figure that out anyway. I'm concerned with teaching average people how to express themselves clearly in writing, no matter what they are writing. I also intend to teach the basics of writing different kinds of things, from fiction to memos on checks so you remember who you were paying for what. I also intend to cover editing because having editing skills--even mediocre ones--is extremely valuable for writers. So, in short: writing for fun, writing for profit, writing for art, and writing for daily life.
2. And a literature class for people who already know how to read (I'm not a reading teacher) that helps hone reading skills but focuses on learning from literature and on "practical reading" (like not being tricked by spam or advertising, understanding those inserts they give you with prescription medications, sorting through information on the internet, etc.). I do think there is immense value in being exposed to the great art literature that's out there. Everyone should know some Shakespeare and at least have been exposed to Dickens and the other great authors out there. Knowing and touching great art develops our souls and enriches our lives and helps us sort through the world we live in. They should also be exposed to great genre writing--many people discover they actually do love to read when they finally get away from the difficult stuff and discover that there is fun stuff out there to read, both fiction and nonfiction. So my goal is to cover reading for practical everyday life, reading for fun, and reading art. Most Language Arts programs are heavily off balance in favor of the art, neglecting the other two almost entirely. I intend to have a more balanced program (we'll see how that goes, I find Shakespeare FUN--and most of my students usually do by the time I'm done with them, too!).
And where do those three staples of elementary ed--vocabulary, spelling, and handwriting--fit in? Handwriting belongs in the K-3 classes, to be taught at the same time as how to read. (How to form the letters would be a prerequisite to how to write.) Vocabulary belongs exclusively in the realm of teaching reading. Spelling belongs in the realm of teaching editing. (In fact, studying any of these in the context of studying writing is counter-productive).
So it's going to take me a while to get these going. But I'm working on it. Meanwhile, I'd be glad to answer questions posted in the comments or sent to me via email about specific things in teaching writing.
Oh, and how did I learn to write? From a history teacher, from my mother (who happens to be a fantastic editor), from studying journalism in high school, and by doing that old writer's standby: writing a million words. Literally.
No comments:
Post a Comment