Manzo K. Secondary teachers' low expectations may cripple students' writing.

Community College Week May 12, 2003;15(20):4. Ipswich, MA.

WHAT?
...finds that high-school teachers may be partly responsible for the lackluster
language skills of incoming college freshmen.
The need to assign many entering community-college students to remedial
classes could be alleviated if they received more and better instruction in and
experience with writing before leaving high school.
American education will never realize its potential as an engine of
opportunity and economic growth until a writing revolution puts language
and communication in their proper place in the classroom.
It is recommended that educators from kindergarten through high school
devote more time and resources to improving students' writing proficiency if
they hope to adequately prepare students for future academic and career
success.
Most fourth graders spend less than three hours a week writing -- about 15
percent of the time they spend watching television.
Regular writing assignments have dwindled in many American classrooms
because of curricular constraints and the amount of time teachers must
spend grading the resulting papers.
The panel also recommends that school officials spend more on assignments
that feature extended writing exercises and use technology to expand writing
opportunities.

SO WHAT?
When I was in elementary school, writing was never something we needed
more of. I felt as if I was always writing. In all of my assignments that I can
remember, I had to write something. I did notice, however, that as I got older,
writing became less frequent. By the time I was in high school, it seemed like I was
only writing in English class. This article made me realize that writing is not as
prevalent in classrooms today, as it was in classrooms ten years ago. To learn that
fourth graders write only 15% of the time they spend watching television is
horrifying.

NOW WHAT?
After reading this article, I understand how immensely important writing is
to our students futures. Writing does not belong in just the language arts time
block, it needs to be incorporated into every content area possible. Writing is an
essential part of many, if not all, careers. In business, emails are written. Journalists
write up reports. Scientists type research journals. My students will end up doing
many different things in their lives, but one thing that they will have in common is
writing. This does not necessarily mean that I will make my students write until
their hands fall off and they are sick of it, I will do my best to use writing to tie all of
the subjects together. I will make writing fun, relatable, and something that my
students will be excited to do.