While I read the Kitzhaber article, it struck me how little has changed in freshman comp since the 60s. We discussed this in class, too. The problems Kitzhaber describes in his article (a lack of teachers, scholarly texts, content organization, and aims) still haunt modern composition programs across the nation. I wondered if the reasons freshmen couldn’t write well in the 60s are the same reasons freshmen can’t write well today.
English educators read this article, shake their heads, and lament, “nothing’s changed.” But a lot of things have changed. We have the Internet, cell phones, satellites, the civil rights movement, the feminist movement, cable, and many other technologies/social movements that have shaped our lives. Freshman comp, in spite of all this, has all the same problems. My existential crisis occurred when I thought “the freshman writers that endured this program in the 60s are now running the world. These are the same people that society and academia said were not literate as freshmen. So if these people have made such an impact, is freshman writing even important?”
People who have a good idea must communicate it in some way or another, whether that be building it, sketching it out as a blueprint, or telling someone else how to do it. Are these modes of communication linked to writing at all? If so, how? Does it even matter if people can write? Are the measurements we’re using to gauge these student’s communication performances obsolete? If a student can communicate a message, does it matter how eloquent it really is? Generally, I equate a lack of literacy with a lack of cultural progress. But our society has progressed rapidly, and it continues to progress. How can this happen while freshman comp remains the same crusty old class? What is going on? How does it affect my role as someone who loves writing and English?
It is interesting that people in every decade of the 20th century has written an article about the problems and issues in freshman composition. We have heard the same problems, but we are at the same basic place as they were in 1900. So, what are the reasons? Why haven't all the smart people that did pass (or bypass) freshman composition come up with some change? Harrison's post comes at this question from a very unique perspective, and absolutely raises valid questions. I especially liked the line where he says "the freshman writers that endured this program in the 60s are now running the world." I wonder what we as a class would come up with if we all asked all our parents how many of them took freshman comp yet we turned out as 'English people'?
ReplyDeleteYou raise some very interesting questions. Since the 60's, the world kept on turning, people got jobs, had careers, and accomplished all of the things we think they need to learn composition to accomplish, but as Kitzhaber's article pointed out, they had the same problems while those people were being educated. Maybe some different people would have landed jobs if they had learned effective formal writing, but who knows. I still think we should try to teach composition, though. Perhaps its my love for the English language, or my belief that composition really does matter and can help students for the rest of their lives that keeps me from throwing up my hands.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying about questioning why we even teach composition. I've never really considered there not being a composition class. I honestly don't have a good answer for it, either.
ReplyDeleteI feel it would be counter-productive to just say, "Well, we've always taught it, so we should continue to," because of the discussion in class on Tuesday. It's the same logic for why we use textbooks that are outdated and in a serious need of revising (D'Angelo's article) instead of changing. It does all seem to be a waste when we see that people had trouble in the past with composition and they turned out fine, though. It seems then that everything needs to be overhauled. This includes a reasoning for why composition is taught as well. As we've discussed in class, the students need to know why it's important for them, or they won't get anything out of it. They need some good reasons. (I really hope that all made sense.)