Re:Why can't America teach writing?
by Al-Khwarizmi on Saturday September 16, 2023 @05:05PM
(#37538697)
At least America seems to try (and most countries in the Anglosphere, I think).
In Spain, you can get through the whole educational system and not be taught writing at all. I remember being told to write an essay from time to time but without getting taught any specific technique (in fact, I think the only technique I was taught was introduction - body - conclusion, but that was in... wait for it... English class!). I have always liked writing fiction, but I got that from the books I read when I was a child, not from school. I remember being happy when we were assigned an essay, especially if I could use it to write some fiction, but it was a quite uncommon occurrence.
My understanding is also that it is relatively common in America to take a creative writing course in college/university, this is typically unavailable in Spain for STEM students and often may even be unavailable for humanities students.
There is a lot of emphasis (both at school and university) on knowing the history of literature and analyzing classic works, but zero on writing your own.
In Spain, you can get through the whole educational system and not be taught writing at all. I remember being told to write an essay from time to time but without getting taught any specific technique (in fact, I think the only technique I was taught was introduction - body - conclusion, but that was in... wait for it... English class!). I have always liked writing fiction, but I got that from the books I read when I was a child, not from school. I remember being happy when we were assigned an essay, especially if I could use it to write some fiction, but it was a quite uncommon occurrence.
My understanding is also that it is relatively common in America to take a creative writing course in college/university, this is typically unavailable in Spain for STEM students and often may even be unavailable for humanities students.
There is a lot of emphasis (both at school and university) on knowing the history of literature and analyzing classic works, but zero on writing your own.