Why do I find it easier to write on some subjects than others? To some
people than others? Using certain platforms than others? I'm not sure,
but I know that I write with ease and confidence when I'm authentically
responding to an issue. Better yet, to a problem.
Tell me Kobe Bryant (who I loooooooooooooooooove, BTW) is better
than Michael Jordan, and I'll write you a ten-page single-spaced essay on
why you're out of your frickin' mind. Tell me you don't "get" The
Strokes' Room on Fire album, and I can write for six hours straight on
why it's an overlooked masterpiece. Simply put, I enjoy writing when I'm
addressing some sort of problem. Not the "I lost my car keys" type of
problem, but rather an issue (big or small) to which I want to add my
voice.
All this is to say, as a writing teacher, I want to create more
problem-based assignments in my curriculum. Importantly, I'm not suggesting my class suddenly bludgeon ourselves to death in service of the "Five-Paragraph Argumentative Essay." Instead, I'm just
tinkering with the idea that perhaps one way to help my students produce
quality prose is to help them thoughtfully engage with ideas
that contain problems worth discussing. I mean, not only is that my favorite type of thing to write, but it's also my favorite stuff to read.
Coda: way more on this subject to come . . . just wanted to get some thoughts down on paper.
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