Recently, before starting an in-class writing assignment, a
student asked: “Is this worth any points on our grade?
I knew what the student was really asking was:
“How much effort do I
need to make?”
And also, “Why should I do this?”
I wanted to answer, “Does it matter?”
And to be honest, I’ve been musing about the answer to that
question ever since.
Knowing if something matters is important, and the following
questions might help any student (or teacher) put assignments into perspective:
“What are you here for?” (Not just “here” at college, but
“here” in the world. What are your goals?)
“Do you intend to be successful?”
“What does 'success' mean for you?”
- “Is it getting a job that makes you lots of money?”
- “Is it having close, meaningful relationships with other human beings?”
- “Is it becoming the best version of your self?”
“Do writing assignments connect to these goals?”
Honestly, many of my students don’t see a connection between
everyday writing assignments and their success in life. And even if they do see
a connection between writing and their future, it’s hard for them to see the
point of writing something right now.
Part of this is my fault. For a long time I have relied heavily on
grades/points as a temporary way to get students to take assignments seriously
enough to put some effort into them.
But I’ve also found that grading can
skew students’ view of what is valuable and what is not.
The fact is, if students are only working for a grade,
they may be getting points, but they’re missing the point.
In some ways, a student who constantly asks “Do I get points
for this?” is like a basketball player who questions the purpose of dribbling,
running, defending, passing, or rebounding. It’s true that in basketball the
only thing you actually get points for is making baskets. But anyone who knows
anything about the game knows that if you don’t dribble, run, defend, pass, or
rebound, you aren’t playing basketball. It’s not just about baskets, and it’s
not just about individual performance.
And neither is getting an education.
So, instead of answering “Am I getting points for this?”,
I’d like to put down in writing the answer to “Why should I do this?” for every
future writing student I’ll ever have.
Why write?
Writing is an amazing technology.
Humans have used writing for so long that we often forget
just how incredible it is.
We forget that the main reason why we’ve evolved so rapidly
and dominated every other species on the planet is largely because we could
pass on not only our genes, but also our understanding of the world to future
generations. We do this through words. Through writing, the ancient Greeks,
Chinese, Arabs, and other civilizations passed down a wealth of powerful
information on mathematics, health, politics, religion, and every other aspect
of life. Without the written word the arts, sciences, and other fields of
knowledge would all be much smaller, and humans in general would be far more
isolated and ignorant.
And writing isn’t just valuable for societies and cultures; it is
significant to individuals, and will be a major factor in anyone’s success.
Want proof?
Try to find a job description for employment that pays over
$40,000 a year that does not require “excellent written and verbal
communication skills.” Not just passable skills mind you, excellent skills.
Ask successful people about their jobs.
What do top engineers spend most of their time doing? Math?
No. Writing.
What do lawyers do? What do teachers do? What do the richest
business executives do? A lot of things, but they’ll all tell you that they
couldn’t function without one specific tool: writing.
Still skeptical?
Try to go through your day without using e-mail, or
reading/writing any other written communication.
And let’s not forget about writing’s growing influence on
personal relationships.
One in four couples meet online. That number will likely
increase over time. What does that mean? It means that not only your future job,
but also your ability to attract a future mate can depend on how clearly you
can construct a sentence.
Wanna get a hot date? Better learn to punctuate.
Also…did you ever notice that when you’re doing all the
little writing prompts I assign in class that I do them too? Did it ever occur
to you that I want and need to get better at writing? Would I expect to get better at writing just by watching
someone else do it or reading about how to do it? Obviously not. If I want to get better
at writing I need to do it myself, and I need to do it a lot.
And if I want you
to get better at writing, the best way I’ve found to do it is to make you
write. A lot. Every chance I get, in fact.
So, let’s go back to the original question:
Are you getting graded on every thing I tell you to write?
No.
Are you turning it in? No.
Is it worth points? No.
Is it still worth doing?
You tell me.
