Over the last 20-30 years there have been hundreds, yes hundreds, of special commissions, committees, studies and reports on the public education system in the United States. Perhaps the most famous of these was the 1983 study entitled “A Nation at Risk,” which was presented to then President Reagan 20 years ago this week. It began with these often quoted words:
“If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might have viewed it as an act of war.”
I know of no one who would seriously argue that the situation has gotten any better in the last 20 years. At their best, American public schools are excellent. At their worst, they are appalling. And there is evidence to support the premise that the gap between the best and the worst is greater than ever.
There isn’t much consensus as to how to fix the system. Not surprisingly, views tend to reflect the political dispositions of those who express them. We do collectively seem to have moved, however, away from grand schemes toward proposals that try to address different parts of the system or curriculum.
The very latest report with recommendations is being made public today in Chicago. It is the work of The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges. The report is entitled, “The Neglected ‘R’: The Need for a Writing Revolution.” This excellent document represents the work of a distinguished group of educational leaders chaired by Dr. Peter Magrath, President of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and former president of the University of Minnesota. One commission member was Michelle Forman of Middlebury Union High School and National Teacher of the Year in 2001.
This is a subject close to my heart. I have long been convinced that learning to write clearly is at the absolute center of a good education, and I have taught writing courses both at the high school and college levels and for the U.S. Air Force. I believe it is critically important.
It is not possible in so short an essay to summarize the lengthy report of this national commission. It is possible to underscore its importance and to commend it to teachers, school administrators and to local school boards. I also know from long personal experience that students who arrive at college with well developed writing skills most often do well in their college work.
A final personal note: I used to require students to write the following sentence at the top of their first paper: “I don’t know what I think until I can put it into words.” It’s true, you know. Someone once said to the gifted writer John Steinbeck that his books were “damned easy reading.” “That’s because,” replied Steinbeck, “they are damned hard writing.” It really is at the heart of a good education.
This is Olin Robison.
Olin Robison is president of the Salzburg Seminar, located in Middlebury, Vermont and Salzburg, Austria.