An Open Letter to Writing Teachers from The WA Mash

Thursday, April 9th, 2009
by Antonio Viva

This Collaborative Essay/Narrative was created by 16 members of W A Mash using the democratic, collaborative writing tools at MixedInk.com. For more about how it was created, see here. It can be republished only if accompanied by this note.

As a high school student in 2009, I have been stuck between two different schools of thought on teaching. In eleven years of schooling, I have done everything from the multiplication tables to writing ten page papers. I have mindlessly studied hours on end for a chemistry test, I have memorized each president’s party and years of service, I can tell you all this useless information that was crammed into my brain from these redundant eleven years of education. What lacks from this gray, structured teaching plan is creativity, the act to create something original and new, the chance to be viewed as a person instead of a textbook. In the real world, do people really want to read a report on how symbolism plays an influential role in a given story? The modern reader does not want to re-learn what they were taught in high school. We, as a class, are encouraged think outside the box, and write about what we want, not necessarily what our teacher wants.

Coming from public school, my English classes for the previous four years were taught in the conventional style of blackboards, notes, and papers. What makes Mr. Viva’s class so great is that what we are creating will be public for anyone with a computer to see and read. It is the first English class that I have used the internet more than a piece of physical literature in the classroom. By exploring English and writing through different types of media, it gives the students another view towards traditional literature topics that we have studied in the past. This class allows every student to think outside the box and beyond.The things we are writing have a meaning and will most certainly not be forgotten. Because each student is free to write about whatever he or she pleases, the class as a whole creates a form of communication that many people are able to relate to and spread several different opinions. We know how to regurgitate information, we know how to memorize equations, let us act like people in an interactive world with other people. The new idea that will change the way we think, the way we act, the way we see the world will be a creative one used to open our eyes; it will not be a recycled idea from a textbook.This form of teaching is just not appropriate for the 21st century student who lives in the 21st century world, with 21st century people.

Our Creative Writing class takes 21st century technology and writing, and puts them together discussing things that are of interest to both the writer and people who choose to read their opinions and articles. We also experiment with another mediums such as video, photos, art, and blogging in order to fully comprehend the world what surrounds us. Seeing things such as videos or pictures is much easier for me to understand rather than reading in a text book and trying to interpret what exactly it is that I am trying to understand.It creates a freedom for the students which allows those students to explore things that they love and they have a passion for. If someone is asked to write a piece that is of interest to them, then the end result would be a more interesting piece of writing because the author truly believes in and cares about what they are writing.
Photo Credit: libraryman

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