National Day on Writing
October 20th is the National Day on Writing. This is an official day–the senate passed a resolution declaring that October 20th is the National Day on Writing.
Why have a National Day on Writing? Well, any of us sitting behind a computer right now know how important it is. We compose on our computers almost everyday–commenting on a blog, writing an e-mail, creating lesson plans, inserting comments electronically in student papers.
I tell my students that writing is power. I usually give my spiel on the first day of class, and it goes something like this:
“Cogent writing is power. Learning to write well can save you and your loved ones thousands of dollars throughout your life. There may come a time where you have to write a letter to your boss explaining why you deserve a raise. A well written letter of contest will get you off the hook for paying a ticket almost every time. For those of you going into business, you’ll need to write letters to customers, advertisers, associates etc. If you can’t write well, those clients may end up choosing someone who doesn’t have a bunch of typos and misuses in her letter. It’s not personal; it’s business.
“Don’t forget about tenant’s rights. When it comes time for you to get your first apartment, what will you do when you find the heat hasn’t been working all day and you can’t get a hold of your landlord? If your landlord is like mine, he’ll be in Puerto Vallarta for the winter. The next step is e-mail. How will you word your e-mail? How will you organize it if you don’t know how to write?
“If you can write well, you will excel in any field you choose to go into. You may say, ‘Well, english just isn’t for me–I’m going into a trade.’ That’s perfectly fine. Many of the friends I went to high school with are successful tradesmen and top of their field. However, they write on an almost daily basis. There are forms to compose, businesses and suppliers to contact, advertising campaigns to be created. Writing is an integral part of every person’s career.
That’s the extent of my rant. Whenever students have real-world writing concerns, I tell them to bring them in. We did write a letter of contest for a parking ticket once and got out of it. That class will never forget the practical power of writing.
How do you help students understand the power of writing? What practical writing examples should students learn? What are your favorite books on writing? I like Vicki Spandel’s Creating Writers Through 6-Trait Writing Assessment and Instruction (5th Edition)and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
For more on the National Day on Writing and what you can do to contribute, go to:
http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting
http://ncteinbox.blogspot.com/2009/10/national-day-on-writing-community.html
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