Monday, June 16, 2014

 

 

 

  Get Those Years of Formal Education

 Out of Your Head and Write

        Unfortunately, anyone who has been formally taught how to write may dread the thought of composing another paper, poem or even an e-mail.

      We all know the voice in our head that either whispers or shouts about improving our penmanship or cutting back on daydreaming, the inability to sit still or a habit of drawing rather than writing, if the classwork was boring or tedious.

     This dread comes from the fact that we learn by doing, but we are taught to follow a very narrow path in mastering subjects like writing or math. Both these talents call on our free-form creativity. Yet letting our imaginations take us close to home or to far flung galaxies without a structure and outline is often seen as nonproductive in corporate and academic circles.

     Formal education has many goals, but the freedom to move, sing, dance or laugh out loud is not among them in most settings. After all, those actions lead to noise. Noise leads to distractions. Distractions lead to failing tests. Tests then fail to assess education. In the end, no one would be socialized and schools as we know them would cease to exist. 

      This isn't to say that individual teachers cannot inspire, allow movement and laughter or provide differentiation that feeds the inner writer. It's just that the structure of formal education is similar to the way we are taught to write.

       In an attempt to help others break away from the routine writing exercises and seminars that pass for adult education, I will offer a five to six week "course" on this blog starting in two months that will play with words in an effort to bring back some joy to writing.

      This is an experiment, so please chime in with suggestions.

     

No comments:

Post a Comment