Report of the National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges
April 2003
Good writing is hard to find. It's even harder to produce and, as "The Neglected 'R" notes, few high school or even college students can write a paper that goes beyond "rudimentary and fairly run-of-the-mill prose." In fact, "more than 50 percent of first-year college students are unable to produce papers relatively free of language errors." Why are American students such poor writers, and what can be done about it? The Commission's answers run the gamut from astute to goofy. Johnny can't write, the report notes, because he spends too much time "drilling on facts, details, and information"; spends far more time watching television than reading or writing; because not enough money is dedicated to his education; because his teachers don't have a good "theory of writing instruction"; because tests don't test writing; and because Johnny and his parents simply don't care. The proposed solutions are standard fare. The Commission - made up of college presidents, school administrators, and teachers - argues for more money, more time, more teacher training in writing theory and practice, more technology, more money for more comprehensive tests, more support from colleges and universities, more support from policy makers and politicians, and more support from parents and society generally. The Commission is right to blow the whistle on America's writing crisis, but much in this report is driven more by ideology, dubious theories of learning, and conventional nostrums than by hard facts about how kids learn to write. To check it out, go to http://www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/neglectedr.pdf.
