Let me tell you a story.
I completed a novel before I even began high school. I was halfway through editing it for probably the 10th time when freshman year began. It was so close to being sent off to a literary agent. I had a list of names and descriptions of the best agents and everything. But I never got that far. Because, you know what high school taught me? Writing individuality will get you a big fat F. You will fail your English classes for having spark, sass, and originality. Don’t. Just answer the questions and analyze until your brain is fried. Intro, quotation, explanation; quotation explanation; quotation explanation, conclusion. Don’t you dare stray from the path. If you can’t follow directions to a tee, you’re a useless waste of life.
I strolled into my Humanities course senior year, ready to take on the world. I was taking English in an actual college, with actual college professors. An actual college class. I felt so smart. That first paper practically wrote itself with inexpressible ease. I channeled my inner novelist and wrote with as much personality as the page would allow. Those quotations and explanations almost jumped from the paper, they had so much spark in them.
And then, a week later, the whole class received their graded papers. My friends' faces were already flushed over their absolutely unacceptable A minuses and B's.
And then my overzealous professor delivered my paper. An exaggerated red F was scrawled on the front and circled with indescribable fervor.
My life as a writer was officially over.
After the paper debacle, I hastily set out to change my ways. I staunchly and religiously followed all directions, regardless of how much it crushed my spirits to throw creativity out the door. The A's began to rain down on me. Just like that, success was mine. I aced the life out of that English class and ended up passing with high grades and rave reviews. That, my friends, is what high school taught me.
And it led me to wonder, as many have wondered before: what exactly are schools doing to our writing process?
Paul Graham, a renowned programmer and writer proposed that, "the subject of writing now tends to be literature...the bizarre consequence [being] that high school students now [have] to write about English literature."
...as opposed to creating literature and expressing ideas.
And this is shockingly true. Essay writing has become more about technique and the demonstration of impeccable rule adherence, than about content itself. Come on. Think back to when you were struggling through those English courses, being told to "find the significance" and elaborate left and right. Were you truly getting an idea across? Okay, maybe you were. But was that idea something you were passionate about? Were you allowed to write something eloquent and captivating with no holds barred? Would being excessively creative and making art from your words help you pass a class that wanted nothing more than endless analytical responses?
We are no longer allowed to strive for a level of writing similar to that of our favorite authors. We can't throw in our own opinions, concepts, interpretations, or ideas when they don't specifically relate to the given essay topic or our pre-stated thesis. We can't step out of those set boundaries without the threat of failure. And, while knowing how to analyze and explain is extremely valuable and significant in the world of education, it's not all there is. There is so much more to an English class than simply learning how to scrutinize and dissect innumerable lines of literature to a tee.
Shouldn't these classes allow students to create those literary works, rather than simply analyze them?
After all, creativity should be treated like gold or... the most expensive caviar you can imagine. It shouldn't be stifled or manhandled or put down or shoved aside. Thinking outside the box isn't easy once one has gotten used to being perpetually boxed in. And, yes, I admit, the rules are great. The rules are useful and they are most definitely necessary. Though, the aforementioned rules are not the be-all and end-all of writing. At some point, students should be taught that there's more to English class than just analyzing the significance of, say...a loaf of bread. Sometimes, the best formula is simply your own.
