Our students in schools and colleges can't write. If you think that is not a crisis, I ask you to read a few examples of writing of college freshmen and senior students:
"Student have several thought when they start college."
"There are many benefits that comes with a college education."
"In today's learning System preparing for A math test has become very well-known."
"Many students go into the process of preparing for final exam all wrong."
"That individual sometimes end up failing and wondering."
Here is a paragraph from an essay written by a college senior on capital punishment:
"In many areas of the world Capital Punishment has proven an success. The growth in crime down in some states with Capital Punishment. Although critics point out areas that have not grown since capital Punishment started, this is mainly because of bad deals with the government if we look at Capital Punishment as a lawenforcement and be careful we can avoid many mistakes that already been made."
Why can't Johnny write?
My honest answer is, Because his teachers can't.
Why can't they?
Because his teachers' teachers did not teach them how to teach writing to children in schools. I do not blame the college professors. They are not required to have teacher training or teaching experience in schools to teach writing to college students. The only educational requirement to teach writing at a college or university is a master's degree in English.
Why is teacher education so important for teaching at the college or university level?
It is a good question. I believe that a teacher should know not only what to teach (the subject or discipline) but also how to teach (methods of teaching), and whom to teach (the student). The knowledge of what to teach is not enough. There are college professors who are scholars in their disciplines, but they are not effective classroom teachers. I believe that any professor who teaches the future schoolteachers must have a diploma in teacher education.
Now, let us think about the writing crisis. If you think there is no crisis, I ask you to think again. What does the word "crisis" mean? As defined in the Encarta World English Dictionary, it means, "a situation or period in which things are very uncertain, difficult, or painful especially a time when action must be taken to avoid complete disaster or breakdown."
All the elements of the writing crisis match to the definition of the word "crisis." We as educators as well as the concerned citizens are responsible for the education of our children. If our children do not learn how to communicate effectively in writing, we will have to accept the blame for the lack of our children's education, even if they learn how to read and do mathematics.
Writing is the permanent communication from one generation to the other. Our ancestors received valuable information about the people thousands of years before them, because they left their written message on stone tablets. We learn now from the people before us when we read what they have left behind in writing. By neglecting writing or not considering writing as important as reading and math, we are creating generations of individuals who would be unable to use the most important means of permanent communication, writing.
- Shaw is an associate professor of English at Mississippi Valley State University.
