Theory and Practice

I find it hard to believe that elementary and high school students are taught to think for themselves when it comes to writing subjects. I recall my own forays into writing in high school and as near as I can recall, I was always TOLD what to write about. I don’t remember ever being given free reign with my thoughts as to what to write about. Granted, we were given parameters and were told to stick to those parameters, but the “specifics” were up to us, as far as what we wanted to write about. Again, those parameters kept u sin check and on course for what the teacher wanted us to write about. Never, until college has I been told to write about what I wanted to write about without restriction. I feel that the writing genius of many a high school student is stifled because of the set structure they must follow, so “a student finds his own subject” does not sit well with me.

I can see the blank look on the faces of my fellow students, and my own to be honest, if I were told in high school to “write anything you feel is true to you”. Huh? Please tell me what to do and how to do it. That most likely would have been my response back then. Young students don’t have to OR get to think for themselves when it comes to writing. I found a boatload of freedom in college writing as the subject is mine, the style is mine, the media is mine. Love the freedom.

Studying theory when it comes to writing is proving difficult for me. I suppose it is because it is my last semester, I have taken so many English classes, read so many novels, written so many analytical papers without a thought to theory, that I feel a little behind in the game. If I had had the theory training before my other English courses, perhaps my writing would have been better. It may have been easier for me to put my “training” to good use. I think that perhaps when students are taught theory, and those theories are put into practice, the student has more of an idea of how to produce authentic writing.