Did Writing In School Even Teach Me Anything? | 6/23/21

Did 20-30 min it seems like of Tai Chi stepping this evening (Tuesday) at class. No actual form work. Different type of focus as you do the same thing over and over for that long. Mosquitoes were definitely a challenge throughout it lol. I do like the unstructured format of the classes as he mixes it up pretty much every time. Another instance of having even more freedom by creating the structure of 'warm up' for 20-25 minutes.

Why did we write so much in high school in such a rushed manner? What was that intended to teach me? What did it actually teach me? Do I use any of those learnings now? How would I restructure it if I was the curriculum creator? One thing that I think it was intended to teach me was that I could formulate a coherent argument based on an open ended prompt. That I could use documents to support my argument or refute another side's perspective. I guess that's helpful to build that mental muscle. But I think the issue there is only exposed us to specific ways of approaching writing. A very didactic, erudite, buttoned-up, traditional way of writing. That is useful in some settings but with the world changing so rapidly and the ways to write being so innumerable, it didn't prepare us for all these limitless possibilities to express ourselves. There is more to writing than FRQs, DBQs, and 5 paragraph essays. It's an outdated system that doesn't allow much innovation for how we learn to express ourselves as students. There was the occasional poem or something more creative but that was never really the focus. The thing is, I never really liked writing middle school onwards. It was a necessary evil that had to be done to complete assignments and take AP tests and standardized tests, etc. It was one teacher, or at the most, a small handful, that assessed with a conclusive number how effective my writing was. The thing is, that's not the way the world works. If you're an actual author, it's not one person who's reading your book, it's hundreds, thousands, maybe millions. The value that's placed on it is subjective. By trying to make the subjective objective through the lens of 1 single person, you're negating the value it provides to other people. As a blogger, you try writing about different topics or niches until you may find one or several that resonates with you and / or your audience. You keep iterating with styles until you find a voice that fits you. And when you feel comfortable with that, that's a signal to continue growing because you should always straddle that line of the comfort zone, pushing yourself to find again what makes you uncomfortable. And do that. As a journalist, there is a time crunch so that's reflective somewhat of the standardized test setting (even if I detested it). Even then though in the case of a journalist, you're providing value to the end reader, not the editor. In that case still, there are gonna be thousands of people who read the article. If it does well, you'll know. If it doesn't do well, you'll know through the engagement of readers or news outlets. But it's averaged out essentially over the massive number of people.

So if I were to institute something different knowing these things, I'd make it graded by all my peers. If not all, then at least 10 so you get some semblance of diversity of audience. I would also expose students to different types of writing from a diverse set of creators throughout all of history. Teach them that there is no right way of formulating an idea or an argument or a thesis. That the value that they provide is unique on its own. And above all, to let them experience the joy of writing. Something that students look forward to. That they can change the world with. Something that has never been seen, said, or heard before. Something that inspires others, and ultimately themselves. The way school framed writing was that it was a tool to distill other people's knowledge and modify it to make it your won. But really, writing is a tool that enables you to learn about yourself. The system taught that it is a way to expand our external horizons and it definitely can be a wonderful way to do that. But it's one of the most fundamental ways we can progress on our inner journey. School instilled in me that writing drained energy. But really, writing creates energy!

Even through the course of writing this, my energy levels have gone up. I was feeling sleepy and ready to pass out. But now I'm ready to tackle the next thing with lots of energy. Such a meta feeling lol. :)