I was shocked when I read some of the statistics in Kelly Gallagher’s “Teaching Adolescent Writers.” The article presented various issues that many schools around the nation face, the lack of writing in classrooms. Gallagher explains that the problem isn’t only present in English classrooms but in the other core subjects as well. If writing is not occuring in classrooms than critically, analytical, and deep thinking are not taking place. I really felt empowered by Gallagher’s statement, “In an age when expectations have risen so that no child should be left behind, you might conclude that educators have heeded the call for more rigorous writing programs.”
The article stated that “75 percent of high schools seniors are never give writing assignments in social studies.” I was amazed by this statistic. In my high school we wrote all the time. It may not have been a variety of writing but students wrote. My social studies class was usually more of an indepth writing class. We wrote essays on certain topics and for every exam. I just can’t believe that some students in this country never wrote in a social studies class. How did they pass the NYS regents or that states exam?
The author and the National Commission on Writing are calling for a revolution. They want to create extended writing times in their classrooms and encourage writing in all subjects. I found truth in Gallagher’s statement, “What good is it if a student can point out the sybloism found in Lord of the Flies if this same student leave my class unable to write well enough for college admission or to secure worthwhile employment?” That is the most important thing to think about when considering how much writing should be going on in classrooms. Teaching the writer important skills is the valuable lesson students need. Students need to be able to function in the world around them and writing is one of the most important ways to do so.
Kaitlyn
You make a valid point. Everyone has the pre-conceived notion that writing is only supposed to happen in an ENGLISH classroom–wrong! Sure, the English class may have the main focus of writing and of course enhance the foundation of writing as a whole but that does not mean that every other class should eliminate writing as a tool from its curriculum!
Comment by willis13 — February 21, 2008 @ 10:11 am
One of the things I loved about English was that the skills we learned in the English classroom (reading, writing, listening, speaking) transfer to other subjects as well. They also transfer to the real world which is why students should be practicing these skills in every subject.
Stacia
Comment by SDerdzinski — February 21, 2008 @ 10:43 am