Why Johnny Can't Write - The REAL Reason

On December 8, 1975, Newsweek magazine ran anewness and oldness if we realize this fundamental
front-cover story titled, "Why Johnny Can't Write." Itrelationship between the two--what's new always
raised national concerns about the quality of writingdepends on what's old.
that students produce in American K-12 schools. AndFor instance, you know the old saying, "You can't talk
it caused a 30-year flood of thousands of protestabout color to a blind man (who has been blind since
articles with the same title.birth)." If your reader has no experience with the
Furthermore, in 1998, 2002, and 2007, national testskind of thing you are talking about--that is, no
continued to prove that those concerns were stillexperience with a shared group that the thing
justified, tests which were reported by the Nationalbelongs to, something it is like,such as movies or
Education Association--only one out of five seniorscomputers--then you can't talk with him about it. You
showed they could write well enough to do writingreally can't explain anything unless you use words and
required in college. And in 2003, the Nationalideas from groups of things you already share with
Commission on Writing declared there was a nationalhim.
crisis in teaching writing in America andSo if your reader is Tarzan of the Jungle (Tarzan
recommended, basically, that all levels of schools andtaught himself to read, in the original story) and you
governments chip in lots more money, time, anduse the word soap in your writing without explaining
people to cope with the crisis.it, then Tarzan won't know what you mean, since
However, what authorities have not realized, evensoap is something he has never experienced, has
yet, is that most of the major problems withnever been told about, and has never thought about.
teaching writing come from teachers focusing theirAnd you can't describe a beautiful sunset to a blind
students' writing merely on the FORMS of writing,man because he has never seen that group of things
without teaching the CONTENT of writing.we call colors.
For instance, teachers emphasize correct grammar,Now, that's not too big of a mental leap, is it, to say
punctuation, and organization, which are all forms. Andthat what's new depends on what's already old (or
when they teach how to write essays, they spend allalready known) to the reader?
their time on introductions and conclusions, thesisOkay. Then what we need now are some categories
statements, topic sentences, and paragraphs--morewe can use to divide up the concepts of new and
forms. All those writing forms are needed, to beold so we can make a working relationship between
sure, but nowhere is there a connection betweenthe two.
any of them and the most crucial thing inHere is a list of what I call old views:
writing--CONTENT that is new to the reader.- Values
True, most teachers and textbooks DO tell students- Expectations
to avoid cliches, to say something interesting, to say- Experiences
something original or new, but they don't provide- Reasoning
students with an actual process for coming up with- Language And here is a list of what I call new
something new.views:
Don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming teachers of- Reverse
writing: I'm merely describing the situation.- Add
Actually, it's a cultural problem, that is, a cultural- Subtract
conceptual problem.- Substitute
You see, nobody really knows how to talk about the- Rearrange With these two sets of categories, we
concept of newness, so how can teachers becan teach students to identify what they share with
expected to instruct on newness in writing? In fact,their readers--the old view, and then we can show
our civilization has ignored coping with the concept ofthem how to process those with the five new
newness for thousands of years.views, making them new.
Why? Because for all of us newness has been thisFor instance, one student may identify her own
mysterious, formless, HUGE black box in our mindsstrong old view value of not liking the divorce her
that we put everything into that we--parents went through, also noting that her friends
don't like divorces, generally, either.
1. haven't experienced yet,Then we can suggest that she use the reverse new
2. haven't been told about yet, andview process to say that divorce has some
3. haven't thought about yet Let's verify this, rightadvantages, some good things about it. And on her
here. As a mental experiment, try this: Can you thinkown she more than probably could come up with
of even ONE useful category that would fit ALLexamples that show her actually spending more
kinds of newness? (Of course, I mean other than thepersonal time with her father each week, going to a
three groups in the previous paragraph. Let's also addshow or to dinner more often with him, as well as
the idea of recency, making four. We do usually thinkthe wonderful fact that he now buys her more
of something that recently occurred as being new,expensive personal gifts than before the divorce.
such as a new headache or a new bill. What makesThen we can help her put that into a thesis
them new is only that they occurred nearby in time,statement, make it resonate in topic sentences, use
or recently.)it to provide examples and stories in her body
So, right now, try to come up with at least oneparagraphs, and create a fine introduction and
category of newness, and then resume reading afterconclusion.
the line of asterisks, below.We can teach Johnny--and Janey--to write content
**************** I couldn't do it, either--until Iwith newness and still use forms in doing it. But only
realized a couple more things.if we stop focusing so exclusively on forms and start
First, very like the vague concept of what's new, thefocusing first on what's new to the reader. And only
concept of what's old has been a mysterious,then should we show them how they can use
formless, HUGE black box in our minds that takes in--traditional forms to support and convey that
newness.
1. everything we've experienced,As we all know, in the real world newness of content
2. everything we've been told, andgenerates forms, not the other way around.
3. everything we've ever thought about --in fact,By universally teaching "what's new to the reader" as
everything in our lives up until now! Even with thesethe most important factor in writing courses, we'll
three categories, what's old is so huge that we reallynever have to see another irritating article titled,
can't wrap our minds around it, can we?"Why Johnny Can't Write"--and we'll save a mountain
Second, I discovered that we can cope withof money in the process.