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Teaching college writing to first year students is like herding cats. It's difficult and sometimes I question why we do it. This is not my way of questioning why we teach students to write, because I believe every student has an inner writer. But I know that not every student in my class is going to need to write a personal narrative. Not every student is going to need to know MLA style. In fact, I really question the validity of this system.
So, why is teaching them how to write an English thing? Why isn’t there writing in the discipline course for each major? Since most students are not English majors, why is writing specifically an English course? Do we think that a college writing course, designed to hammer out the mechanics of grammar, syntax is sufficient? I don't.
Every discipline has their own writing style and technique, so why don’t grad psych students teach psychology writing 101 and 102? In almost every major, the possible exception being the English major because writing is considered a part of the English discipline, students enter their major without knowing how to "talk the talk" so to speak. They know there is a language of their discipline, they’ve seen it, come close to understanding it, and find themselves near drowning in it. Students get that there is something called "good writing" but they don't know how to do it and because they don't do it perfectly the first time they think they never will.
Pardon my gender stereotyping for a moment, while I make a point.
It’s like a little girl watching her mother put on make up. The results when the child attempts to make up her own face are bound to be near comical parodies of her mother’s careful actions. However, with practice, and a bit of fashion sense, the poor child will stop fixing herself up like Bobo the clown or Mimi from the Drew Carey show. She'll develop her own style and it will become as natural to her as breathing. However, if her father (without begging gender or sexual orientation questions) were to teach her, she might not ever learn how to properly use make up. Why? Because her teacher was not an expert in the subject. Writing is like this. We need the right teacher so that when we make the mistakes we can be corrected so that we can learn how to do it properly.
If each major had a writing course and let their students write from that perspective, their writing would be more focused and could develop with an eye to their future career. I could picture this model working so well. We know there is a need. We could do one semester of college writing, a general overview of the nuts and bolts of writing, then send the students to more specified writing courses. This would ease them in to their professional or academic language much more effectively then our current method.
This idea seems logical. I guess that's why it has no place in higher learning.
Sigh. And we wonder why the humanities are struggling?
**Legal Disclaimer: This post does not reflect the opinions of the University of Louisiana, the English Department, or anyone else who might think I'm putting words in their mouth. This post is intended to get students thinking about why all majors take a basic writing course in the English department. It is not challenging any university or departmental policies.
