Going Beyond Conventional Teacher Wisdom for High School Writing Programs

Getting your students back on solid ground with the writing skills needed to succeed in college and career can, at times, take some creative, out-of-the box thinking. In a recent article on The Atlantic website by John Maguire, a writer and editor who authored the Newsweek College Writing Guide and who also teaches college writing courses in the Boston area, addresses this and other issues regarding college career readiness.

  

"As a college writing instructor, I have seen many students show up in a freshman comp class believing they can't write, and their opinion is valid. They don't realize that it's because they lack certain skills that were common among college freshmen 40 years ago." – John Maguire

"In her article "The Writing Revolution," Peg Tyre shows the teachers at New Dorp High School beginning to ask the question too few writing teachers ask: What skills do these students lack? She quotes Nell Scharff, an instructional expert brought in by the school, as saying, "How did the kids in our target group go wrong? What skills were missing?"

You can read the full article here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/the-secret-to-good-writing-its-about-objects-not-ideas/263113/

If your students are lost and confused by a piecemeal approach to writing while you and your colleagues struggle to retrofit an unworkable program to meet the new expectations of the common core. Consider our own College and Career Readiness: Writing – a comprehensive 9-12^th grade writing program that provides students with consistent expectations from teacher to teacher and year to year and gives teachers a clear, methodical program that fits into their curriculums.

Take a look at some sample pages here and request your free sample today. 

College and Career Readiness: Writing Sample Paget College and Career Readiness: Writing.