Writing has always been some sort of a haven for me. Whether I am in a bummed out mood, or have thoughts consuming my brain, writing has always helped me escape reality. Ever since I can remember, putting a pencil to paper has been a magical feeling that is indescribable. The one thing that I have never been able to fully grasp is my love for writing but my dislike for English class.
I personally think English classes nowadays are entirely focused on how well you can write a perfect thesis sentence, how you can work with five solid paragraphs that coincide perfectly, and how you can gradually go from a broad topic to a specific closer. Although I love writing as much as I do, I can honestly say I disliked English class growing up. Of course without taking English classes I wouldn’t know the difference between “their” and “there”. Without English I wouldn’t know how to place commas between a list of items. Without English I wouldn’t be able to write a clear and organized article, I get it. But I personally think English class does not teach you how to be your own writer but merely a writer that makes the grading easier on the teacher.
I have always been a “fluffy” writer, as my dad has told me numerous times, and not everyone likes that type of a reading. For that reason, scientific writing has never been a strength, to say the least. To me, English class should be the time for that. English class should teach structured writing, but not harp on that being the one and only “correct” form of writing.
After years of sitting in front of a computer screen in my free time typing different creative stories and poems, I have grown in ways that an English class curriculum could never teach me. Figuring out ways to put together sentences to appeal to different readers and learning how to develop a storyline that isn’t exposed in the first paragraph are skills that I had to learn on my own since utilizing them in a normal English essay was never allowed.
My teacher’s standards were always ambiguous when I turned in what I perceived to be a perfect paper, and was given back a grade that didn’t reflect that perception. Going to these classes constantly conflicted with the positive feedback I would get on my writing.
I have never understood how teachers can grade two well written essays while the same concept is clearly uncovered in the assignment. Losing points because your thesis statement doesn’t outline your entire paper or because your conclusion doesn’t repeat every point you had just made, has never made sense to me. It aggravates me when I have done significantly worse for a paper that I put half the effort in. Unfortunately, these rules from English class have messed up my appreciation for the course; but choosing to break them has allowed me to develop into the writer I strive to become.
