It seems to me that no one really knows how to teach writing. We know how to teach spelling. We know how to teach punctuation and capitalization. We know how to teach grammer, and we even know how to teach handwriting. But we don't know what must happen for good writing to take place.
It's a little like composing music. A student may have mastered his or her instrument, may read music perfectly, and may have vast experience with the published repertoire. But will that student become a composer of music? Probably not. Musicians consider composition to be a special gift, one that is separate from being a gifted musician.
Why, then, do we expect students to take their mastery of the mechanics of writing and turn into writers? I'm not speaking here of being able to write a letter or a report. I'm speaking of the elegant, persuasive writing (fiction and non-fiction) done by those with talent for it.
John Walker's The Teacher's Assistant, from 1801, seems like a logical and thorough approach to writing. I think today's students would chafe under the restrictive nature of the program; they are accustomed to more self-expression that it allows. Walker's pedagogy has plenty of wisdom, in my opinion. Students can learn about writing by learning rules, and young ones are often completely lame about coming up with their own subjects. It wouldn't hurt students a bit to do more writing about general and abstract topics, instead of their personal experiences.
I think Walker's methods, and others like them, absolutely have a place in writing instruction. But I don't think they are the complete answer for this difficult task. Students also need to write, just so they know they can, and so they practice enough to gain comfort.
Is it necessary that we choose just one way of teaching writing? I'd like to see some theories that have room for the ways that will help the student most. I think education should be a dynamic process - always considering the student's needs and adjusting as a result.
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I understand your point of view, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to, respectfully, disagree with the idea that only a handful of people are gifted enough to learn to write well. I think one of the biggest obstacles to writing (whether grammatical or not) for remedial students is overcoming that very fear. The one that asks us who we think we are trying to compete with writers of skill and talent?
ReplyDeleteOf course, you are right on point when you talk about the need to define "good" writing, but who could step up and say they have the authority to offer a definitive definition?