Developing writing skills from childhood<\/p>\n
By A. Chaedar Alwasilah<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The response by readers of this paper (three
\nletters and one article) to my article Writing needs more
\nattention (July 10, 1999), raised issues which included writing
\nas an art, nonacademic writing, feedback on student's writing,
\nand government policy on publications.<\/p>\n
Their concerns and arguments confirm that writing is the most
\ncomplex constructive act human beings are expected to perform. At
\nthe macro level, the habit of writing and an individual's
\ncompetency to write are dependent on public support, including
\nthe government's publication policy.<\/p>\n
In our daily life there are many complex constructive acts
\nthat require talent, such as designing buildings, carrying out
\nexperimental research, composing or conducting music, maneuvering
\na supersonic jet, presiding over court cases, organizing a
\ncompany, and so forth.<\/p>\n
However, most people are not expected to perform these
\ndifficult jobs, they are left to a talented few. But schools and
\nsociety seem to expect that everyone, especially educated people,
\ncan write. Even if we say that writing is an art, we should not
\nequate it with the art of choreographing a ballet sequence.
\nWriting experts believe that writing is a teachable and learnable
\nart, provided it is taught and learned in a correct manner.<\/p>\n
Writing should be developed as early as possible. Parents are
\noften annoyed by their children's scratching on the walls with
\ncrayons, which is, in fact, an act of genuine and natural
\nwriting. Such children should be encouraged by providing them
\nwith a pen and note pad, on which to copy simple drawings and
\nletters. Simple drawing develops the simultaneous coordination of
\nthe mind and the hand. Children who are encouraged to draw are in
\neffect being trained to verbalize thinking and feeling in a
\nsystematic manner.<\/p>\n
First-grade children will write if we let them. It is usual
\nfor parents and teachers to overlook an abundance of energy for
\nan expression that is waiting to be tapped. If only children's
\nsupervisors would allow their charges to lead and observe and
\nfollow and help them intelligently, who knows what writing we
\nwould be privileged to read.<\/p>\n
A first-grade respondent to my research wrote the following
\nauthentic, original, and creative piece: Saya pulang dari pasar
\nterus melihat ada pemilu sekarang. Saya melihat banyak partai PAN
\ndan PDI. Saya suka melihat partai-partai PDI, PAN dan PPP. Aku
\npulang dari rumah nene pas di jalan banyak partai. Mamah saya
\nmencoblos PAN papah saya mencoblos PNI. (I was on my way home
\nfrom the market when I realized it was the election period. I saw
\nmany PAN and PDI campaigners. I love to see PDI, PAN and PPP. I
\nwent home after a visit from my grandmother and I encountered
\nmany campaigners on the street. My mom voted for PAN, my dad
\nvoted for PNI.)<\/p>\n
In my opinion, elementary students would have no problems
\nexpressing what they saw on the polling day. In the citation
\nabove, we notice how truth and reality reside in the child
\nwriter's mind. This is an example of a natural approach to
\nwriting pedagogy. Parents and teachers have a moral obligation to
\nshow appreciation by giving feedback, by writing sincere
\ncomments, impressions, and by showing interest -- an
\ninstructional step very much taken for granted. Research shows
\nthat young writers find such comments encouraging and rewarding.
\nThey feel that their achievement is recognized, and thus their
\nself-confidence is assured.<\/p>\n
Teachers of all school subjects in secondary schools should
\nfunction as "unofficial" or volunteer writing instructors. By
\nassigning students the task of reporting on the 1999 General
\nElection, for example, social science teachers teach politics,
\nwhile at the same time help to develop writing skills. Students
\nrealize they learn politics, but they do not realize that they
\nare as matter of consequence acquiring writing skills.<\/p>\n
Research by Applebee (1981) revealed that in American
\nsecondary schools, English teachers were more likely to provide
\nhelp with writing tasks, while teachers of science, social
\nscience, and mathematics were more likely to be concerned with
\nthe accuracy of the information and soundness of the conclusions.
\nThe concept of writing across curriculums (WAC) embraces an idea
\nthat writing should be acquired subconsciously as a byproduct of
\nlearning all school subjects. Non-language teachers should be
\nalerted to scrutinize both the content and language when
\nevaluating the writing assignments.<\/p>\n
As a productive skill, writing presupposes receptive skills.
\nThrough reading for pleasure, students themselves are prompted to
\nwrite for pleasure accordingly. Students are assigned to read a
\nwork of fiction and write a response to it. In literary circles,
\nstudents are encouraged to share their aesthetic experiences.
\nUnder no circumstances should students be taught a structural
\napproach to fiction -- characterization, setting, plot, and
\ndemographic information of the author. This approach has been
\nresponsible for relegating literature to the object of formal and
\nintellectual exercises rather than aesthetic appreciation and
\nevocation.<\/p>\n
Through WAC programs, elementary and secondary students
\npractice general writing or nonacademic writing, such as keeping
\ndiaries, writing correspondence, and writing for pleasure. These
\nconstitute personal and imaginative writings, a genre of writing
\nalmost everybody can perform, where individual experience rather
\nthan subject-area information is stressed. Such practices
\ndiscourage the learning of theories of writing and lay the
\ngroundwork for professional or academic writing.<\/p>\n
WAC strongly believes that over the years students take on a
\nspecialization and profession congruent with their talent.
\nEngineers, medical doctors, architects, and politicians, for
\nexample, build professional circles, an activity for which
\nreading and writing are an absolute necessity. Many of them,
\nhowever, have no skills in nonacademic writing, partly because
\nthey did not obtain general writing skills in their precollege
\nyears. Seminar papers, research reports, and journal articles
\nconstitute a specific kind of writing that presupposes general
\nwriting skills.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile universities are often criticized for establishing
\nan "ivory tower" orientation, where they tend to communicate
\namong themselves, and are detached from the public. Ideally,
\ncollege professors share their ideas, knowledge, and research
\nfindings not only with peers but also with laymen. Journal
\narticles are as significant as textbooks, and research reports
\nare as important as newspaper articles. These different genres of
\nwriting should be accomplished by intellectuals, especially
\ncollege professors.<\/p>\n
Viewed from linguistic and teaching perspectives, the above
\nexplanations partly explain the paucity of textbook writing in
\nthis country. Nationally, there should be political will from the
\ngovernment to encourage publications. The policy of inflicting a
\n15 percent tax on a writer's royalty is discouraging, and
\nindicates that the government is not serious about improving the
\npopulation's literacy. By way of comparison, in other developing
\ncountries such as Malaysia textbooks are nontaxable items.<\/p>\n
From the explanations above, some guidelines for developing
\nwriting skills follow.<\/p>\n
* Writing skills should be developed from childhood. There
\nshould be a massive campaign for developing a literacy attitude
\namong parents. Early literacy and writing skills grow at home and
\ngradually develop outside.<\/p>\n
* The formal teaching of writing in school is not and should
\nnot be intended to train students to be poets, novelists, or
\nplaywrights -- a common erroneous belief among parents and even
\nteachers. High school graduates should develop a reasonable level
\nof writing competence to enable them to communicate in daily
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
* The early years of schooling are responsible for developing
\ngeneral writing skills, which constitute the foundation for
\ndeveloping specific or professional writing skills. Appropriate
\nways of teaching general writing skills should be emphasized in
\nprecollege education.<\/p>\n
* College writing should be handled in professional ways.
\nCollege graduates have received professional skills in various
\nfields of life. On completion of college training, they should
\ndevelop not only general writing skills, but also specific or
\nprofessional writing skills, so that they are capable of
\ncommunicating not only with their professional peers, but also
\nwith the general public.<\/p>\n
* Through WAC programs, teachers or professors work in a team
\nto develop writing skills through learning content areas.
\nTeachers and lecturers of all school subjects and content areas
\nshould realize that each of them is responsible for developing
\ntheir students' writing skills.<\/p>\n
* Existing government-sponsored institutions such as Pusat
\nPembinaan Bahasa (The Center for Language Development) and Pusat
\nPerbukuan (The Center for Textbook Development), do not render
\nsignificant contributions to the development of textbook writing
\nin particular and literacy in general. It is high time to
\nestablish a national center for research in writing, where
\nrelated research is coordinated and research findings are
\ndocumented. Unless the methodology is research-based, we will
\nnever be sure of the state of the art of writing, and how it
\nshould be taught.<\/p>\n
Bearing all the above in mind, I respectfully call for a more
\nprofessional attitude toward the teaching of writing. Writing is
\na medium for perpetuating civilization, and is an indicator of
\nbeing civilized. The proper teaching of writing is the surest way
\nto develop civilized Indonesians.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the graduate school of the
\nTeachers Training College (IKIP) in Bandung.<\/p>",
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