An opening quote to help ponder the question... Is digital technology ruining the art of writing?... Now the quote...“There never was a golden age where everybody could write well,” says Lunsford. “Writing is hard.”(Karp, 2010). Writing is the hardest thing students have to learn how to do, in my opinion, because so much happens between the time the thought leaves the brain and tries to come out the pencil or keyboard. When you are speaking, even when choosing your words carefully, you don't worry if they are spelled correctly... you just say them and if you say it wrong you just correct yourself or clarify. Yet when you are writing the grammar rules and spelling rules are a constant clamor, all while you are trying to think of clever things to say, since you will Not have the chance for instant clarification. Having the conversation in your head and trying to think about all the possible word choices, their usage, and proper spelling and then forcing them down to the end of a pencil can be an exhausting task for many students. So, formal writing takes practice on that we all agree... almost all of us agree that finding better and quicker ways to accomplish the task of practicing is good for students too. For those of you that disagree with me about that consider this thought... are you reading this post on an electronic device? If you reply will you do so using a keyboard? If you answered yes (and you most likely did) then you are using an updated method that is supposedly ruining writing...Hell let's go back to quill and ink to write on parchment if we feel like we must maintain writing in its purity... untainted form the likes of advancements... and yes that means throwing Shakespeare's work out too because he invented words, used nouns as verbs and vice versa. Ridiculous Right???? It like demanding handwriting be taught, but not keyboarding... I learned handwriting when I was in elementary, but sure wish I had better typing skills now. Education has changed! The way we communicate has changed! The arrogance of some educators thinking that teaching from a purist point of view ill prepares students for the world they will live in beyond school. We do Not need to fix the current education system... we need to build a new system that adequately prepares students for the world they will live in, Not the world of the 20th Century, but the 21st Century and beyond!
The second article yielded this quote..."Books aren't out the picture, but they're only one way of experiencing information in the world today"... This says it all to me... in a world that many want to see as only this way or that, (black or white), or I'm right and you're wrong... books have their place, but so does every other form of media. I could expound upon this idea and thought for hours and even add the ideas of Zachary Sims as he relates his understanding of this topic, but I would rather ask this question and know the answer before I proceed. Because the answer to the question will have a great deal of bearing on the direction I would take the conversation... Answers to this question will provide the fodder for an up-dated post.
What do think is a person's most valuable resource?
References:
Karp, J. (2010, January 01). Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writiers. Retrieved May/June, 2016, from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/does-digital-media-make-us-bad-writers
Rich, Motoko. "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading." June-July 2008. Web. May-June 2016.
5 comments:
Writing is very hard! I myself am not a very good writer and have always hated to write stories in school. Students will struggle with writing and learning the different types of writing. I also agree with you that we need a new system that prepares the students for our modern times, especially if digital media is our future in education.
Reporting for duty on laptop, replying with keyboard. :D
Your post makes me think of Kansas Writing Strategy. In KWS, as you may know, students are supposed to pick a formula for the sentence, explore words to fit the formula, and then actually WRITE the sentence. I don't know about you, but I have never in my life tried to peg a "formula" for expressing my ideas before slopping them down--I've always just worked to get the ideas out of my head pronto, and revise later for improvement. I feel like KWS gets in the way of self expression by saying "No, you can't write that idea down until you formulate it according to our rules." I have a feeling Shakespeare would be "LMAO" at that idea. I tell students to get as much out of their heads onto the paper (or screen) as possible--we can peer review, revise, and edit later. What good is it if you forget what it was you wanted to say in the first place because you were muddling about with Ss an Vs and Ds and Is?
Michelle, Thank you for these comments... I agree with your thoughts about the KWS being a barrier to creative expression. Your comments also Sparked this question... What is the exact purpose of learning how to diagram sentences?
I agree with you that we need to build a new education system that embraces the way things are going instead of going against the current. I personally feel that I struggle finding the right words when speaking. I definitely do not have the gift of speech and I don't think I do well in that aspect when teaching art. I find it actually easier to write. But I still agree that the process of writing is super hard and a challenge. Honestly for how long it takes me to comment for this class I do not write well either! It is different as an art teacher/artist. I explain things more in class by actually demonstrating with a paintbrush, etc. I have so many creative students who excel in the arts but have extremely low writing and reading skills. However I definitely think the arts are similar to writing because of self expression and it is a way to communicate. It has taken me longer than it should to simply write this comment but I could in less time walk over to the piano and compose a song easily. Everyone is wired differently.
I learn so much about your ideas on the nature of literacy and the future of education by reading these blogs and your comments. Too bad I'm not really reading and you're not really writing. LMAO!
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