In Kitzhaber’s essay, “The Present State of Freshmen Composition,” he states that freshmen composition is in need of “radical and sweeping reforms” (270). While that was indeed true for the time period in which it was written, can we say today that those reforms happened? Does composition still need reformation? If so, in what ways? Is it better now or about the same?
In “Why Johnny Can’t Write,” TV is blamed for students’ inability to express themselves properly when composing anything: “Short of throwing away all the television sets, I really don’t know what we can do about writing” (3). Clearly this blame came from a place of confusion and they realized it was unfounded later on. Do we sometimes do the same thing with our own students except we blame the internet or texting? Who, if anyone, is really to blame if our students don’t write well? What can we do about that?
-Candace Cooper
In “Why Johnny Can’t Write,” TV is blamed for students’ inability to express themselves properly when composing anything: “Short of throwing away all the television sets, I really don’t know what we can do about writing” (3). Clearly this blame came from a place of confusion and they realized it was unfounded later on. Do we sometimes do the same thing with our own students except we blame the internet or texting? Who, if anyone, is really to blame if our students don’t write well? What can we do about that?
-Candace Cooper
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