Writing is not one of those academic subjects for students to cram facts into their brains in order to regurgitate them on a test and forget them before answering the next question. Writing is not a subject for students to look upon indifferently or (truly) objectively. Writing is not a subject that remains a distant, unanswered set of questions that lie far beyond reach.

Writing IS the student. When one is able to write, whether a piece of fiction, a research paper, an essay, a review, or this very letter, pieces of oneself pour out onto the page in a definable manner. No subject can quite connect a student to his/her work on such a high emotional, factual, opinionated, and cognitive level. 

Some of my most meaningful experience throughout my school years have included my triumphs on a written assignment, especially the ones that took weeks of re-writing, revising, editing, reviewing, and re-writing some more. It truly feels as if each piece carries a part of who I was, as well as helped to shape who I am now. For example, in the tenth grade I wrote a research paper about C.S. Lewis' theme of hope in his book "The Last Battle." Through that paper, I not only developed a deep love for all C.S. Lewis works, but I realized how literature almost always threads a higher purpose and theme. In the eleventh grade, under Dr. Ellen Shelton (a product of the National Writing Project), I was assigned to write an ode. After much debate, I wrote mine to roller blades, a childhood activity that propelled me through a time of divorce and poverty for my family. Writing this piece allowed me to find the good in my harsh past, be thankful for my present, and look forward to reaching my goals for the future. This class also required the reading of roughly ten million essays by an array of authors on an array of subjects and writing a one-page "reading response" and a one-page "writing response" to every one. At first these were a real pain to me, but by the end of the cycle during which we completed these exercises nearly every night, I came to look forward to them. Writing about the essays I had read connected me to the writing style, the subject matter, and the author. I'll never forget some of those inspiring essays I read because I wrote about them. Finally, I must confess, I never watch the news or really know what is happening in our nation, but, also in my junior year of high school, the teacher thought it'd be a great idea if we engaged in movement called "Letters to the President" (sponsored by the National Writing Project). The class was required to write letters to be posted online for the President to see. I could not sounds ignorant if the President happened to read my letter! Therefore, I was forced to start listening to the world around me and get plugged into the election race. I slaved for hours over my letter, but by the end, I had a legitimate opinion on a legitimate issue. It would have never happened without writing. By my senior year, my life had been so enriched by writing, I wrote a 106-page book of five short stories for my senior project, then I taught a seminar to younger Pre-AP English students about the writing process and how to publish a book.

When students don't love writing, it's because they have teachers who do not love writing. When teachers don't love writing, it's because they do not know how it is properly done or taught. Here I must speak for the National Writing Project, not only as a student who has benefited indirectly from my teacher's involvement, but as a daughter. My mother, Manya Chappell, was an English teacher for a number of years and now serves as Assistant Principal to an elementary school. The tools she learned being apart of the National Writing Project not only enriched her own classroom, but is now enriching dozens of classrooms because of her position. I was her student for one year, and she constantly was presenting fun and exciting new writing techniques and entering our pieces into state and national contests. And guess what? Her students loved her and they loved to write! She still receives e-mails and letters to this day from former students who have never struggled in an English class or have gone on to win writing contests at higher levels.

Writing is not optional. It is a form of expression that cannot be replaced, and for some students it is the only form of true expression they are allotted. If our teachers cannot teach it effectively, we have truly cheapened a generation's ability to be creative, to be opinionated, to be articulate, to express themselves, to connect, and to transfer the jumble of thoughts and emotions raging inside on paper in perfect coherence.

Alisa Wood

Tupelo High School, Class of 2010