Blog # 6

Since I have not posted regarding the readings from WW because I just got my book (finally), my post this week will focus primarily on "Learning to be a Writer". We do learn to write by writing. I've seen it too many times to say otherwise. Smith actually reiterates our class discussion when he states "No writer has ever claimed to have learned as a result of the grammar lessons given at school."(177) How true.

Last Semester, I took Dr. Cheri Ross' class in Linguistics. I found myself struggling to re-learn what apparently I had already learned as a young child in elementary school. I did learn it, right? Because for the life of me, I couldn't remember having learned much of it, especially "diagrams", prespositional phrases and such. I am a good writer, not great, but I apparently have at least a slight handle on the conventions in writing or I would'nt have been an "A" student for the past seven years.

I've considered the possibility of subconscious learning and the fact that maybe I've just repressed the grammar aspects of writing, but it makes little sense to me that I don't remember any of it. My current knowledge of grammar is thus: Nouns, verbs and adjectives--even after having attended Dr. Ross' classes. How then, is it possible for me to write at all, let alone the wonderful, well-written stories and papers I produced over the years? I can't imagine having been this effective without at least possessing the foundations of a subconscious grasp of grammar and it's usages.

However, as I look back on my years as a student, I remember writing--a lot. It was one of my favorite past times (besides reading novels). Yes, I understand Smith's point that "what we read does not inevitably rub off onto us as writers." (178). However, I do think that both of these ideas can be combined to explain how we learn to write. Think about it: for those of us that read, we are subconsciously picking up vocabulary and grammar usage. Smith suggest just this in his statement mentioned later in the reading:

"Have you had the experience of casually reading a book or newspaper when suddenly your attention is seized by the way a word is spelled, perhaps a name you have heard mentioned on the radio or television but never seen written before? You may have read beyond the text but you go back because you know there was something that caught your attention." (188) Thanks Mr.Smith, you've proven my point, or maybe I'm simply agreeing with you. I believe we do learn to write by reading. But I know without a doubt that it can't be accomplished effectively without writing as well. I believe it should be a combination of both in order to enhance the student's ultimate potential.

I also have to say I agree with him on the complications of learning to write. It is amazing that the human mind is able to comprehend the language process and the ability to express it through the written word. I feel just like the author; I find myself wondering how I learned all this--how anyone learns all of this, which is why we need to hire psychologists and psychiatrists to try and make sense of it. As a result, I have noticed I've gained compassion in trying to teach writing; I have more patience now than I did years ago. Common errors and frequent mistakes are welcome, because I understand that this process is extremely difficult; not that it has to be, as the author indicates. To me, it just is, when I approach the cognitive aspects of learning to write. We just do it and we just learn. I've given up trying to decipher (literally) how we can do it--no matter which way we learn it or what kind of teachers we have in life. "What really is learning?" (Smith, 186). Who knows?I accept the human-as-sponge theory and consider the learning process of writing a miracle from God. Period. It's easier that way, so I can busy myself writing...