American Origins of the Writing-across-the-curriculum Movement

Russell:

"The skills model of writing offered no intellectually interesting reason to connect the process of learning to write with one's students' (or one's own) intellectual or professional development - with the activities of a discipline, in other words" (p. 6).

McNiff:

I think the process of writing to learn would create stimulation in the students. But then grammar and skills would need to have an interesting subject. If English is constantly changing, then how would it make sense for grammar to only be taught in "grammar school." Of course, I agree that basic skills need to be taught: sentence structure, spelling, and formats at an early age, but these basics are not discussed again until the student has to write a paper for English class. Thinking about how writing is only a part of English class.... "The skills model of writing offers no intellectually interesting reason to connect the process of learning..."

Reflection:

The skills model is what causes a huge problem in the classroom. Enforcing skills that can't be used in life are useless skills like learning the rules or percentages in math but not being able to connect it when you go shopping to get the most for your money. The idea that grammatical skills are only seen as basics that "once learned" can become foundation for writing is a major part of why writing and all it encompasses is restricted to only grammar school.