Writing about writing—by the Write Source staff

Sentence Modeling

“Writing is learned by imitation. If anyone asked me how I learned to write, I’d say I learned by reading the men and women who were doing the kind of writing I wanted to do and trying to figure out how they did it.”

—William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well

Many of America’s best writers—from Mark Twain on—write in a relaxed, somewhat informal style. This style is characterized by four special types of sentences. (more…)

Getting Your “Ugh” Across

A few thousand years later, the clever folks of Ur developed cuneiform writing. Then people had two options: either say “Ugh” or write “Ugh.” You said it if the person was standing there, and you wrote it if the person wasn’t. The choice was clear.

Now, after another few thousand years, the choices are anything but clear. A modern person can say “Ugh” in person or by phone or via voice mail, can email “Ugh” or IM it or text it or blog it or microblog it.… People nowadays even network “Ugh.” Take a look at MySpace. It’s a million pages of “Ugh,” combining words, pictures, audios, videos, links, games, and clubs.

These are the “new literacies“—all the communication options available to modern people who want to get their “Ughs” across. Many students are already avid users of these new media. What they need is not instruction about how to poke someone on FaceBook but rather instruction about whether to poke someone on FaceBook.

All modern communicators need help deciding the best medium for each message.
(more…)

Planning Less, Learning More

I remember very well a vocabulary unit I had planned. I had gathered all kinds of interesting information about words, including how words are added to the language, how their usage changes over time, and so on. I enjoyed every minute of my research and couldn’t wait to share my findings with the students. Unfortunately, they didn’t share in my enthusiasm, no matter what I tried. I might just as well have given them a list of ten words and told them to define each one and use it in a sentence.

Why didn’t they share in my enthusiasm? Why weren’t they curious about the words they use? I didn’t have any meaningful answers at the time (so many years ago), but I do now. Everything in the unit came from me. I was, in a sense, just another textbook, presenting a set of facts and details for students to learn. When instruction becomes too teacher-directed or too curriculum-directed, most students will either passively follow along, or they will simply tune out. This is especially true for middle-school and high-school students, who are ready for more direct involvement in the development of the coursework.
(more…)

Dog New Tricks

Two years ago for Christmas, after much begging and pleading on my part, my wife bought me a Chihuahua puppy. Dobie’s an affectionate little guy (5.5 lbs. now, fully grown) who loves to perform tricks. When teaching him a new one, I can see in the glint of his eye his effort to puzzle out just what his big buddy the human expects this time. And oh the excitement in his stance, his wagging tail, his bark, when it becomes clear! Watching him celebrate his success (with much bouncing and licking of my face), I’m reminded of my childhood school days, the joyful feeling of having finished a test for which I was well prepared in a subject I loved.

Then the old saw, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” casts its shadow on my current happiness, and I wonder how much longer Dobie will be able to take on new learning. Is there some tragic turning point at which his brain will rigidify? Of course, the saying isn’t really about a dog at all, but a cynical opinion about human nature. It suggests that you and I become unable to adapt and learn as age sets in.
(more…)

Literature Is Dead; Long Live Reading!

Over the course of several entries on this blog, I’ve called into question the value of traditional approaches to teaching literature. My objection has been two-fold:

1. It’s a shame to ruin perfectly good literature by force-feeding it to students. Worse, doing so inspires in those students a distaste for reading, so they’ll avoid other good literature in the future.
2. The choice of texts is always motivated by agendas imposed both by cultural assumptions (”Everyone should experience Anne Frank’s story”) and market forces (”Our competitors include ‘Flowers for Algernon’ in their texts, so we can’t afford not to”).

(more…)

Words of Wisdom

A recent PBS documentary about China began with these words boldly appearing on the screen:

By three methods, we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest;
Second, by imitation, which is easiest;
And third, by experience, which is the bitterest.

—Confucius

The documentary focuses on the rapid modernization that China has experienced and will continue to pursue. Confucius’s words serve as an effective guidepost when attempting to come to terms with the new China: We can reflect upon changes in the country, perhaps compare China’s situation with similar situations, see what unfolds because of the changes, and so on.
(more…)

Literature Pop Quiz

Q. True or false: The primary theme of The Great Gatsby is the disintegration of the American Dream during the very height of material prosperity in the 1920’s.

A. In the very act of asking that question, I have imposed two assumptions upon you.
    1. You ought to have read The Great Gatsby.
    2. The American Dream is related to an empty and unsatisfying material prosperity.

Maybe you agree with both of those assumptions. That is not the point. I could as easily have asked the following.

Q. True or false: The primary theme of Atlas Shrugged is the hampering of individual excellence by collectivist mediocrity.

A. Again two assumptions:
    1. If you haven’t read Atlas Shrugged, you’re somehow lacking.
    2. Individuals can excel only by escaping the bonds imposed by a mundane common culture.
(more…)

That’s a Good Question

“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
—Malcolm S. Forbes

I’m big on student-centered learning. That’s why I’m such a strong proponent of using the workshop approach to help students develop their writing skills. (See my blog entry “Writing Workshops: The Only Way to Go.”) This past week I read an encouraging post, “Teaching Without a Script,” on the New York Times‘ Lesson Plans blog. In that essay, Matthew Kay describes his teaching experience at the Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in downtown Philadelphia, and, as he puts it, things are so good that teachers and students are reluctant to leave at the end of the school day:
(more…)