Do Your Writing Classes Matter?

As a student, you might love writing.  Then again, you might not.  You might hate it.  It might even bring back bad memories of all-nighters with parents screaming and teachers judging and a report card that made you feel stupid.

Whether you love or hate writing, I hope this project gives you information and ideas to help you become a better writer.  But more importantly, I want to help you enjoy writing — or at least hate it less.  But why?  What's the point?  Will this stuff actually make your life better?

It can.  It should.  And I'm building this project because I want writing to add meaning to your life.  I've had so many students who just don't like writing.  I think part of it comes down to how classes are designed versus how humans feel rewarded.  A writing class asks you to write your thoughts on paper — if the quality of your thoughts is then marked down based on where you placed your commas, then it really sucks to attend class.

Not every class is like that, of course — but many are.  For some students, that's great — when I was younger, every mark on the page helped me develop a stronger writing style.  But looking back, I know I was really privileged.  I loved reading, and I consumed books over the summer — because of this, I was familiar with the "rules" of grammar before I ever saw them in class.  And I wasn't reading "good" books or anything — I was reading shit tons of science fiction.  And today, most of what I write is still science fiction.  For me, sci fi novels are the fun books — and those fun books helped make me the writer I am today.  Yes, the classes I took helped me see the those grammar rules, but reading and writing helped me feel the words.

Theoretically, teachers are supposed to make every assignment meaningful and enjoyable.  As a teacher, I know that's impossible.  Hard as I try to make my assigments interesting, there's no way I can compete with YouTube and TikTok when it comes to making something "fun" or "exciting" or "interesting."

Even so, writing should still be rewarding.  But we teachers don't always help with that part — we don't always make it clear how your assignments apply to the world beyond the classroom.  And as students, you'll sometimes need to fill in the gaps between what a teacher says and what matters for your life.  But that doesn't mean these courses are "bad" or "useless."  It means that writing changes faster than any of us can keep up with.

So I urge you: do your best, but don't worry if you're sometimes confused or uncertain or even bored out of your goddamned mind.  That's life.  That's learning.  And that's the thing every teacher must face, too.  You'll find our classes confusing, but we also find our students confusing.  Between generation gaps and differences in interests, you will never have a day where every teacher connects with every student.  You might even hate some of your teachers, and there are some teachers who hate some of their students.  That's facts.  But ultimately, your successes will be your own.  You'll have to carve your own path forward.  My hope is that your teachers — especially if I'm one of them — can provide you with tools to help your in that journey.  And the ability to write — the capacity to communicate your thoughts through words that endure — should contribute to successes far beyond graduation.