A note of explanation:
from time to time, college English departments receive letters like the one
below that lament the disconnect between high school and college writing expectations.
Although some names have been changed, this is an actual letter, followed by my
actual reply.
SBCCSD
__________________________________________________________________________________
Soy Bean Country Community School District
#13
5142 East
Route 136, Mecca, Illinois 60666
Unit office:
217-748-6696 Fax: 217-748-3334
October 21, 1996
Dear English Department Chairperson:
I am writing as a result of reports made by several 1996
SBCCHS graduates. These students claim their freshmen writing teachers remarked
that the writing instruction in high school would best be forgotten.
Additionally, ÒPower WritingÓ and the Òfive paragraph essayÓ are not useful
tools.
As a high school English teacher, I am frustrated. I teach
at the sophomore and senior levels. At the tenth grade, I am required by the
State of Illinois, therefore the local curriculum as well, to prepare students
for the Illinois Goals Assessment Program (IGAP tests). The informative and
persuasive essays, demanded by the State, require a five paragraph essay. The
scoring rubric used ensures this approach. Ideally, the conventions of ÒPower
WritingÓ make the whole process a logical one. Therefore, I implement both
techniques.
Of course, the seniors are required to write extensively.
They use power writing for any informative or persuasive essay. At the same
time, creative writing assignments are also an integral part of the curriculum.
These include satires, sonnets, ballads, epics, and the like.
Quite frankly, I want to know what you want from me. I want
my students to go into their college classes as prepared as possible. With the
constraints of state requirements and local district demands, my teaching
format does not have the same liberties as yours. Considering my dilemma, would
you please provide suggestion as to the direction I might pursue in my
instruction of writing?
Obviously, my attempt is to achieve as much of an
instructional continuum as possible. Our professional objectives are the same;
a complementary relationship will be a benefit to all.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Picard
English Chairperson
Soybean Country Community High School
Elementary
School |
Middle
School |
High
School |
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August 25, 2004
Jeanne Picard, Chair
Department of English
Soy Bean Country Community High School
851 N. Temple St.
Mecca, IL 60666
Dear Ms. Picard:
I can see the frustration you and other Illinois high school
English teachers face, having to teach for a test and worry about preparing
students for the realities they will meet in college writing situations.
You are correct in assuming that the 5-paragraph theme does
not ÒexistÓ at the U of I. I
should add that we do not know what power writing is, though it certainly has
the ring of educationese to it. Our official position with regard to our
beginning students is this:
- we assume that they have done anywhere from not a lot to a great deal of writing before they get here
- we assume that their previous writing experiences have ranged from the very unsuccessful to the highly successful
- we tell them (officially, that is) that we respect their writing preparation, whatever it may have been, and that whatever that experience has been, their task now is to adapt what they know to the requirements of college writing
I admit that college instructors have perennially told
students to Òforget everything they learned about writing in high school.Ó I
remember people doing that when I was in graduate school, many years ago. And
IÕm sure some U of I instructors still convey that negative message, though I
do what I can to get them to be much more positive about their studentsÕ
training and abilities.
I believe that each new educational stage a writer reaches
has new requirements and expectations they must adapt to. As a high school
English chair, you yourself may have listened to your staff complain that their students must have learned very
little in middle school or elementary school. I know when I taught high school,
that was a common complaint. I suppose the first-grade teachers blame their
chargesÕ parents for their perceived failings in writing. Certainly editors
tell writers fresh from college or even grad school, ÒYou may have been able to
get away with this kind of writing in school, but this is the real world . . . .Ó Editors still remind me that I mustnÕt aim my writing at a
bunch of stuffy academics. I call the continual dissing of writers the cycle
of blame, and I
think while the recognition of different writing expectations is accurate, the
blame part is misguided.
My concern now, like yours, is that students not be caught
in the middle between the requirements of the State Board of Education and the
expectations of college faculty.
So our official position is to introduce students to the world of
college writing, whatever that may be, to expand their five paragraph themes
into longer, more thoughtful, critical analyses, arguments, or problem solving
activities. And even if they donÕt bring the ÒbaggageÓ of the five paragraph
theme with them (many in fact do not), they too find they must meet new demands
on their intelligence, that they must learn new ways of writing each time they
enter a new context for writing.
I am enclosing a copy of a guide we have developed for high
school English teachers interested in knowing what their students will
encounter at the University of Illinois. In addition, IÕm enclosing a copy of
our handout, ÒWhat Writers Do,Ó which describes in more detail the approach we
have developed over the years to teach writing the way writers really write. I
hope these will be of use. If only the state could see the educational
advantage of abandoning the idea that writing must be taught by formula and its
output quantified, then we would really be making progress. But we must also
work with the realities that face us, and secure the best possible outcome for
our students.
I hope you find my letter and enclosures useful. Please let
me know if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely yours,
Dennis Baron
Professor of English and linguistics