Schools today offer more of a varied curriculum than at any time in history. While this is generally a positive step and promotes the opportunity to discover a wide range of possibilities for the child's future, it is not uncommon in some areas for schools to lose their focus on the fundamentals. History bears out that a solid foundation in reading, writing, arithmetic, science, and history provides the child with a firm foundation from which to build a more advanced and diverse set of skills.
Writing, I believe, is one of the most under-utilized and poorly taught skills in schools today. The art is not lost, but a quick perusal of Facebook will prove that the vast majority of people are less than competent written communicators. Writing well not only allows for clear and concise communication, but also encourages critical thinking, introspection, and a general hunger for more knowledge when regularly employed as an exercise. With the rate of degeneracy in today's youth increasing rapidly, schools are, in my opinion, missing an opportunity for character development through writing .
Written words and the time spent practicing the art of writing are both therapeutic and an ideal manner and opportunity for the constructive self-expression that is sorely needed in modern society. While self-expression is not lacking today, to say the least, it more often occurs in detrimental and less desirable styles that do not in any way contribute to the favorable advancement of the student.
Writing allows an individual to express and develop thoughts and ideas like no other pursuit. Similar to the worthy practice of reading (another exercise that is highly under-appreciated in the twenty-first century), writing creatively opens new realms of ideas, particularly in students during their formative years. What writing offers above reading is a greater stimulation of the creative juices that flow in the deep places of the spirit, as well as the vehicle for releasing them. When these hidden resources are not only allowed but encouraged to bubble to the surface, a greater appreciation and examination of self and surroundings is cultivated in a manner that cannot be compared to many other endeavors.
If schools really want to bring out the best in their pupils, a renewed emphasis in writing will be of vital importance to this reformation of learning.
