Re:RE: Big Yes for Formulaic Writing

[rboehm_at_ucomp@ccmail.llu.edu]

Yes James,

You are so right about the different foms and structures of music!  Debussy was
expelled from Conservatoire for breaking the "rules" of harmony in his
composition class!  (But Debussy had to know the so called rules before he broke
them!  And which came first--the rules or the writing?)

Of course, every art form has developed its own style and structure over the
centuries.  Picasso's cubist form was imitated by other artists.  But even
Picasso moved on to develop other new forms and structures for the visual
expression of his ideas.

Perhaps we could, like John Cage, simply have a blank piece of paper with a
title on the top, and let the "reader" develop his/her own ideas (experience)
about that topic.  (I refer to Cage's "silent" work where he sat at the piano
for something like 2'37" and played nothing, allowing the audience to invent and
create, in their bewilderment,  their own noise from their embarrassed laughter,
shuffling of feet, sotto voce comments, and so on.  At the end of the allotted
time, Cage stood up, bowed to the audience, then walked off stage. It was a
wonderful experiment in sound creation from the audience rather than the
performer! He later refunded the majority of the concert ticket moneys to
disgruntled concert goers.)

But again, where did Cage begin?  To experiment, he had to have a "status quo"
from which to move away from.  I guess my major thesis (ouch! that word!!) here
is that writing is a Performing Art!  

It is in the teaching of writing that we need to teach our students how to be
creative, how to think original thoughts, how not to be afraid of thinking!!! 

Consider a comparison with reading.  Kids are sent home from school and told to
enjoy reading!  Are they punished for this?  How often do kids go home from
school with the instruction to simply to "enjoy" writing?????  And if ever that
happens, then their writing is suddenly an instrument for measurement and
testing and assessment--it HAS to be corrected! All RULES must be followed!   So
all thru life, our present college students, and professors too for that matter,
 have been "taught" to fear putting their ideas on paper because it WILL be
eventually criticized!  Are art classes at school treated the same way?
Obviously, art techniques are eventually taught, but it is the natural
expression of ideas thru participating in creating an art work that is
encouraged and rewarded first.  Why not writing pedagogy the same?

I see a strong correlation between art & writing. Obviously, writers need to
have skills & techniques, but let's make writing an artistic activity rather
than a scientific analysis.  Using music formats in the teaching of writing is
but a metaphor for student writers to consider. Music & art approach a topic
from an aesthetic point-of view. Also, the ability to see connections and
patterns is an IQ factor.

Now, who is imposing structures on writers?  Whenever do we USE essays in the
real world--apart from publication?  Well, of course we do read essays, but
those essays are in the form of aesthetic reading--not for assessment and
measurement like WE impose on writers in academia.  Perhaps we need to start at
"zero" writing pedagogy and come up with a whole new paradigm/concept of what
writing should be at the undergrad & graduate level.  Start rewarding
creativity: stop punishing writers for not following rigid rules.

I'm sure there is a majority who share these sentiments and are concerned about
HOW to get writers to write well and HOW to get them to be original thinkers,
and so on.  It is the HOW part of teaching writing that will cause much debate
for centuries to come!  

My mind starts to wander.  The issue is too big to address it all here!

Let the research continue...

Thanks for your input James, and Wendy, and Lynne, and Lady, and the many others
who have contributed to this discussion.  It keeps OUR critical-thinking alive
and well, too.

Maintain the expertise.  Is anything more profound than the power of the pen?



Dr. Robert Boehm
Coordinator for Writing
Teaching Learning Center
Loma Linda University,  Ca