Too often, smart, hardworking students struggle over writing projects at school, unable to put forward great ideas, knowledge, and insight. It’s heartbreaking. They lose marks over a misplaced apostrophe, but they were never taught the rules. It’s discouraging. They stare at a blank screen not knowing how to start an essay, but they were never given the practical tools. It’s frustrating. They write themselves off as incapable, but the root of the problem is lack of proper instruction. Basic tools and methodology to teach them are missing from the curriculum. They are missing from textbooks, and they are not taught at teacher’s college.
It’s alarming, since writing is an integral part of overall academic success. Parents panic that the problem is with their child. Sometimes the schools disperse IEP’s. And students come up with all kinds of self-diagnosed identifications to justify their difficulties.
“I am a math person, not an English person,” is a greeting I hear often when a new student walks in for an assessment.
“I am a right-brain person, I am not very creative.” This one always makes me smile.
“Writing is just not my thing.” We’ll see about that.
“I am not a books type of person.” It’s disheartening.
When I explain simple grammar or effective sentence techniques, they ask with sincere bewilderment how they were expected to know this if no one has ever taught them. In our public speaking workshops, we have the pleasure of watching teens transform from either shy or silly, but always nervous kids into effective and captivating presenters, successfully sharing their humor, ideas, and experiences with an appreciative audience. When we cover techniques for writing closing sentences, types of examples or analyzing fiction, I can tell by the brightening look in their eyes that they had no idea there was a method to this madness.
The group that suffers the most are first generation Canadian children. Preserving the family’s first language is important and beneficial in many ways, and most parents believe English will come along on its own; unfortunately, fluency in English suffers. It’s true that most pick up spoken English within a few months of starting school. Within a year or two they have no accent, and to many parents, they may seem fluent. However, testing and observation reveal that reading comprehension, advanced vocabulary and writing remain behind even beyond high school. For students in French immersion, this gap is even more evident.
My only hope is that more parents recognize the importance of good writing skills, and then, the struggles can be replaced with the joy of effective writing.