Summary Of Bonehead Writing By Craig Vetter
Diagnostic Essay
Can a human be taught to write? This is the underlying question in “Bonehead Writing” by Craig Vetter. Vetter claims that a teacher cannot teach a student to write because writing is a way of thinking. While Vetter believes this idea, the concept is flawed. Anybody can be taught to write.
Every skill that a person knows had to be learned at one time. Writing is a skill that every literate person has learned. When a baby is born, they only “know” the necessities to survive, but the things they “know” are not cognitive processes. Their heart beats; they breathe, but they do not have to think about either one of these things. Actions that require thought such as reading or writing are not known to them. If teaching these
skills was impossible, then the world would be illiterate. However, the opposite is true. Studies into literacy have produced models to approximate the amount of people that are literate. In 1800, eighty-eight percent of the world was illiterate, but by 2014, only fifteen percent of the world is illiterate (“Literacy”). This shows that skills such as writing can be taught. In fact, it shows that throughout time the world has gotten better at teaching these skills. One of the best examples that show anyone can write would be the case of Helen Keller. Despite Helen Keller being both blind and deaf, she still learned how to write. She later went on to publish her own autobiography that would later influence works on television (“Helen Keller”). If Helen Keller’s story proves anything, it is that humans have the capability to learn to write.
Vetter tells of how prestigious universities such as Harvard and Brown are creating English courses to combat the writing issue. However from Vetter’s analysis, it is hard to determine the reasons why these prestigious universities are creating these courses. Vetter says these universities are creating these courses “in an all-out, last – ditch effort to ensure that their graduates will at least be able to fill out applications for day labor without embarrassing themselves,” (Vetter). Writing is composed of two main parts content and grammar. Vetter does not explain if these courses are to help students with grammar or content. Using Vetter’s later statements, it can be inferred that the courses were created to help the grammatical portion of writing. Vetter says that writing is thinking and that no one can teach you to write. Universities such as Harvard and Brown are known for having the proverbial “cream of the crop”. The best and brightest students apply to these universities in an extremely selective process, and because these students have been accepted to these universities, it can be inferred that they can think. This means these courses are focused on helping students improve their grammar, which contradicts Vetter’s claim that they would have to be taught how to think.
Everyone can learn to write. Vetter views writing as a painful process. He tells of how a writer can spend days writing one sentence. He sees this as the pain of writing. While this may be the pain of writing, it is also the beauty. It is astonishing how many articles and ideas can be expressed through writing. Civilizations long since extinct still live through their embrace of writing. Eventually, the civilization of today will fade into history, but the things that are written will still be available to be analyzed. The beauty of writing is the words, phrases, and sentences that have affected people, and while crafting these works may take time, the result is something that is immortal.
Can a human be taught to write? This is the underlying question in “Bonehead Writing” by Craig Vetter. Vetter claims that a teacher cannot teach a student to write because writing is a way of thinking. While Vetter believes this idea, the concept is flawed. Anybody can be taught to write.
Every skill that a person knows had to be learned at one time. Writing is a skill that every literate person has learned. When a baby is born, they only “know” the necessities to survive, but the things they “know” are not cognitive processes. Their heart beats; they breathe, but they do not have to think about either one of these things. Actions that require thought such as reading or writing are not known to them. If teaching these
skills was impossible, then the world would be illiterate. However, the opposite is true. Studies into literacy have produced models to approximate the amount of people that are literate. In 1800, eighty-eight percent of the world was illiterate, but by 2014, only fifteen percent of the world is illiterate (“Literacy”). This shows that skills such as writing can be taught. In fact, it shows that throughout time the world has gotten better at teaching these skills. One of the best examples that show anyone can write would be the case of Helen Keller. Despite Helen Keller being both blind and deaf, she still learned how to write. She later went on to publish her own autobiography that would later influence works on television (“Helen Keller”). If Helen Keller’s story proves anything, it is that humans have the capability to learn to write.
Vetter tells of how prestigious universities such as Harvard and Brown are creating English courses to combat the writing issue. However from Vetter’s analysis, it is hard to determine the reasons why these prestigious universities are creating these courses. Vetter says these universities are creating these courses “in an all-out, last – ditch effort to ensure that their graduates will at least be able to fill out applications for day labor without embarrassing themselves,” (Vetter). Writing is composed of two main parts content and grammar. Vetter does not explain if these courses are to help students with grammar or content. Using Vetter’s later statements, it can be inferred that the courses were created to help the grammatical portion of writing. Vetter says that writing is thinking and that no one can teach you to write. Universities such as Harvard and Brown are known for having the proverbial “cream of the crop”. The best and brightest students apply to these universities in an extremely selective process, and because these students have been accepted to these universities, it can be inferred that they can think. This means these courses are focused on helping students improve their grammar, which contradicts Vetter’s claim that they would have to be taught how to think.
Everyone can learn to write. Vetter views writing as a painful process. He tells of how a writer can spend days writing one sentence. He sees this as the pain of writing. While this may be the pain of writing, it is also the beauty. It is astonishing how many articles and ideas can be expressed through writing. Civilizations long since extinct still live through their embrace of writing. Eventually, the civilization of today will fade into history, but the things that are written will still be available to be analyzed. The beauty of writing is the words, phrases, and sentences that have affected people, and while crafting these works may take time, the result is something that is immortal.