Before discussing what skills we have taken away from our middle school and grade school years, I’d like to clarify a few things. To begin, I have met some amazing teachers before my first year as a high school student. I am avoiding listing specific teachers, as I would inevitably neglect to mention a few. However, I can confidently say many teachers in middle and elementary schools have been tasked with preparing me for later years, and all have excelled. Also, I will only be analyzing the “irony” of middle school and grade school from an English perspective, considering the blog is dedicated to the study of English.
In regards to this post’s focus, I have discovered I went into High School misinformed. I believed the first sentence in any essay consisted of a question, fact, quote, or definition; that three body paragraphs were guaranteed to earn a passing grade; theses had to have an idea and three supporting details; and a standard paragraph must have 5 to 8 sentences. Of course, the possibility that a Freshman walked into school on the first day knowing a high school-worthy design for an essay is likely. Nonetheless, my experience with my peers and teachers suggest many students have developed strict habits that limit and deteriorate their writing.
The patterns listed earlier can plague a student’s writing, but can aid a second or third grader still learning how to properly express ideas through pencil and paper. Early in an educational career, students develop skills to answer open-ended questions and argue points. Limiting grade school students introductions, paragraphs, sentences, and theses ensures students will put proper effort into their work and that the student’s work will be correct. Unfortunately, students are guided through this “elementary” structure of an essay but not informed of a more formal and free style in middle school. I will acknowledge that in middle school English teachers also cover a variety of skills; such as reading, inferences, quotes, and counter-arguments. Both grade and middle school teachers have a vast curriculum to teach their students within a limited time. Sophisticated essay skills are never taught simply because of the way education is organized.
The early introduction of simple essay skills, and the lack of introduction to improved abilities later on, can undermine a student’s writing. However, English teachers in high school have been willing to clarify and introduce to these skills to their students. I did not write this blog with the intent of belittling teachers who are currently working in elementary or grade school, or to blame a specific group for the lack of skills my peers and I entered high school with. I constructed this blog with the intent of directing attention to a problem. While a proper, perfect solution to this problem may not exist, I believe aid from teachers as well as extra work from students led to the fantastic writers and readers I learn besides today.
Thank you for reading my blog, and thanks for all the teachers I’ve had throughout the years. I know this statement is overused, but I truly would not be as skilled as I am today without all of your effort.
This is an interesting topic. As we spoke about in class, in order to teach children to write they must have some type of formula to follow. As you get older we try to break you out of those writing boundaries to allow you to grow and thrive. Teachers can not do this before the students are ready or it wouldn't work. So yes, it may feel like you learned something that was wrong once you go to HS, but it's all a process! I'm glad you chose a topic that was meaningful to you! ~ Mrs. K
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