Writing Off Reading
By Michael Skube
Sunday, August 20, 2006; B03
We were talking informally in class not long ago, 17 college
sophomores and I, and on a whim I asked who some of their
favorite writers are. The question hung in uneasy silence.
At length, a voice in the rear hesitantly volunteered the
name of . . . Dan Brown.
No other names were offered.
The author of "The DaVinci Code" was not just the best
writer they could think of; he was the only writer they
could think of.
In our better private universities and flagship state
schools today, it's hard to find a student who graduated
from high school with much lower than a 3.5 GPA, and not
uncommon to find students whose GPAs were 4.0 or higher.
They somehow got these suspect grades without having read
much. Or if they did read, they've given it up. And it shows
-- in their writing and even in their conversation.
A few years ago, I began keeping a list of everyday words
that may as well have been potholes in exchanges with
college students. It began with a fellow who was two months
away from graduating from a well-respected Midwestern
university.
"And what was the impetus for that?" I asked as he finished
a presentation.
At the word "impetus" his head snapped sideways, as if by
reflex. "The what?" he asked.
"The impetus. What gave rise to it? What prompted it?"
I wouldn't have guessed that impetus was a 25-cent word. But
I also wouldn't have guessed that "ramshackle" and "lucid"
were exactly recondite, either. I've had to explain both.
You can be dead certain that today's college students carry
a weekly planner. But they may or may not own a dictionary,
and if they do own one, it doesn't get much use. ("Why do
you need a dictionary when you can just go online?" more
than one student has asked me.)
You may be surprised -- and dismayed -- by some of the words
on my list.
"Advocate," for example. Neither the verb nor the noun was
immediately clear to students who had graduated from high
school with GPAs above 3.5. A few others:
"Derelict," as in neglectful.
"Satire," as in a literary form.
"Pith," as in the heart of the matter.
"Brevity," as in the quality of being succinct.
And my favorite: "Novel," as in new and as a literary form.
College students nowadays call any book, fact or fiction, a
novel. I have no idea why this is, but I first became
acquainted with the peculiarity when a senior at one of the
country's better state universities wrote a paper in which
she referred to "The Prince" as "Machiavelli's novel."
As freshmen start showing up for classes this month,
colleges will have a new influx of high school graduates
with gilded GPAs, and it won't be long before one professor
whispers to another: Did no one teach these kids basic
English? The unhappy truth is that many students are
hard-pressed to string together coherent sentences, to tell
a pronoun from a preposition, even to distinguish between
"then" and "than." Yet they got A's.
How does one explain the inability of college students to
read or write at even a high school level? One explanation,
which owes as much to the culture as to the schools, is that
kids don't read for pleasure. And because they don't read,
they are less able to navigate the language. If words are
the coin of their thought, they're working with little more
than pocket change.
Say this -- but no more -- for the Bush administration's No
Child Left Behind Act: It at least recognizes the problem.
What we're graduating from our high schools isn't college
material. Sometimes it isn't even good high school material.
When students with A averages can't write simple English, it
shouldn't be surprising that people ask what a high school
diploma is really worth. In California this year, hundreds
of high school students, many with good grades, faced the
prospect of not graduating because they could not pass a
state-mandated exit exam. Although a judge overturned the
effort, legislators (not always so literate themselves) in
other states have also called for exit exams. It's hardly
unreasonable to ask that students demonstrate a minimum
competency in basic subjects, especially English.
Exit exams have become almost a necessity because the GPA is
not to be trusted. In my experience, a high SAT score is far
more reliable than a high GPA -- more indicative of
quickness and acuity, and more reflective of familiarity
with language and ideas. College admissions specialists are
of a different view and are apt to label the student with
high SAT scores but mediocre grades unmotivated, even lazy.
I'll take that student any day. I've known such students.
They may have been bored in high school but they read widely
and without prodding from a parent. And they could have
nominated a few favorite writers besides Dan Brown -- even
if they thoroughly enjoyed "The DaVinci Code."
I suspect they would have understood the point I tried
unsuccessfully to make once when I quoted Joseph Pulitzer to
my students. It is journalism's job, he said, to comfort the
afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Too obvious, you
think? I might have thought so myself -- if the words
"afflicted" and "afflict" hadn't stumped the whole class.
mskube@elon.edu
Michael Skube teaches journalism at Elon University in Elon,
N.C.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
Monday, August 21, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
RWA National Conference in Atlanta
Thursday morning, I was up and running attending workshops. The first I went to was a PAN (Published Authors) workshop which discussed legal matters as they applied to writers. Very interesting! In fact, it was interesting enough that I bought the speaker's book (uh oh, that's two books I'd bought now...how heavy was my luggage going to be??? I always take juice for my breakfast and by this time, I'm starting to calculate the weight of the books minus the weight of the juice and wondering if I'm going to be under or over the limit. Yikes!)
I met up with Patti and her friend, Terri, during the luncheon. Have I mentioned the food at the Marriot was terrific? Yes, we had chicken but it actually tasted like chicken. The only bad part of the meal was the broccolini which could have used another 5 minutes in the steamer (yes, I know your veggies are supposed to be tender crisp but the key word is tender. I could barely cut those things with my knife)
After lunch was the AGM. I bypassed that and took the opportunity to actually check through the workshop schedule. Later I met up with Kat and Tara for dinner. Yep, the Champion again {g}. That night I attended another online chapter meeting--The Golden Network (the online chapter for Golden Heart Finalists). Because of my sale, I was being booted out (along with, I forget, about 27 other members who'd made their first sales too). I received a certificate and a darling little boot pin that I will proudly wear on my badge. So now I get to be an Alumnus, which makes me sound old and wise, huh? Pity that's only half true (be careful which half you choose to be true {g}
Friday morning, I had yet another chapter meeting. The Hearts Through History chapter had a breakfast meeting at the Hilton across the street. This is a terrific chapter filled with friendly, supportive writers whose love of history and willingness to share knowledge makes them one of the best chapters (local and online included). We won't even mention the great gifts they give to members. A HHRW tote bag, a lovely lace fan, a folder, a parasol (that's so nifty--haven't seen one of those in years!)
After that, it was workshop day.
Normally, I love going to the workshops--you always learn something new or something will inspire you to think about a writing technique in a new way. This year, however, the workshops I attended seemed a little mediocre. Not bad, really, but just...boring.
RWA, if you've never been to one of their conferences, offers several workshops each hour. I suspect that I just had a run of bad luck, picking workshops that just didn't pique my interest or didn't meet the expectations I'd gotten from reading the brief descriptions. It happens. The bad thing is that I'd chosen the 'poor' ones over ones that I'd considered attending that I later heard were fabulous. As I said, it happens.
I'd originally planned to attend the Passionate Ink lunch at the Georgia Aquarium but I was so full from breakfast, I knew if I ate anything else I'd be sick. So I elected to spend the time in my room, feet up.
Saturday dawned. The last full day of the Conference which would end with the Award Gala. Again, I started out with workshops, met some more friends, had a great time. The Award Ceremony rolled around and it was fantastic. Last year in Reno, you may remember, I had a case of food poisoning so I missed the Awards that so many complained was long and boring (a real shame since it was an Anniversary of RWA). This time, it was hosted by Nora Roberts (the Queen of Romance Writing {g}) and it moved, quick paced and interesting all the way through. I do believe it was the best Awards Ceremony I've ever attended (including the one where I finaled in the Golden Heart which should have made that one the best but, hey, I didn't win {g} and the ceremony was loonnggg and the room warm and stuffy)
After the Reception, I hit the sheets, fell asleep and woke up two hours later.
Normally, my friends and I have a small get-together for breakfast on Sunday but most of them had early flights so I (having chosen an afternoon flight) was on my own. I had breakfast down in the one hotel restaurant that didn't have a bar, LOL. Packed my luggage, made the decision to leave about 10 books and a small tip for the maid, then grabbed my stuff and headed to the airport.
It was only after I was aboard my plane that I realized I hadn't bought one souvenir! But at least I got some great pics of my friends and had a great experience (and no food poisoning! LOL)
I'll post, at another time, some info about the workshops I attended and liked.
I met up with Patti and her friend, Terri, during the luncheon. Have I mentioned the food at the Marriot was terrific? Yes, we had chicken but it actually tasted like chicken. The only bad part of the meal was the broccolini which could have used another 5 minutes in the steamer (yes, I know your veggies are supposed to be tender crisp but the key word is tender. I could barely cut those things with my knife)
After lunch was the AGM. I bypassed that and took the opportunity to actually check through the workshop schedule. Later I met up with Kat and Tara for dinner. Yep, the Champion again {g}. That night I attended another online chapter meeting--The Golden Network (the online chapter for Golden Heart Finalists). Because of my sale, I was being booted out (along with, I forget, about 27 other members who'd made their first sales too). I received a certificate and a darling little boot pin that I will proudly wear on my badge. So now I get to be an Alumnus, which makes me sound old and wise, huh? Pity that's only half true (be careful which half you choose to be true {g}
Friday morning, I had yet another chapter meeting. The Hearts Through History chapter had a breakfast meeting at the Hilton across the street. This is a terrific chapter filled with friendly, supportive writers whose love of history and willingness to share knowledge makes them one of the best chapters (local and online included). We won't even mention the great gifts they give to members. A HHRW tote bag, a lovely lace fan, a folder, a parasol (that's so nifty--haven't seen one of those in years!)
After that, it was workshop day.
Normally, I love going to the workshops--you always learn something new or something will inspire you to think about a writing technique in a new way. This year, however, the workshops I attended seemed a little mediocre. Not bad, really, but just...boring.
RWA, if you've never been to one of their conferences, offers several workshops each hour. I suspect that I just had a run of bad luck, picking workshops that just didn't pique my interest or didn't meet the expectations I'd gotten from reading the brief descriptions. It happens. The bad thing is that I'd chosen the 'poor' ones over ones that I'd considered attending that I later heard were fabulous. As I said, it happens.
I'd originally planned to attend the Passionate Ink lunch at the Georgia Aquarium but I was so full from breakfast, I knew if I ate anything else I'd be sick. So I elected to spend the time in my room, feet up.
Saturday dawned. The last full day of the Conference which would end with the Award Gala. Again, I started out with workshops, met some more friends, had a great time. The Award Ceremony rolled around and it was fantastic. Last year in Reno, you may remember, I had a case of food poisoning so I missed the Awards that so many complained was long and boring (a real shame since it was an Anniversary of RWA). This time, it was hosted by Nora Roberts (the Queen of Romance Writing {g}) and it moved, quick paced and interesting all the way through. I do believe it was the best Awards Ceremony I've ever attended (including the one where I finaled in the Golden Heart which should have made that one the best but, hey, I didn't win {g} and the ceremony was loonnggg and the room warm and stuffy)
After the Reception, I hit the sheets, fell asleep and woke up two hours later.
Normally, my friends and I have a small get-together for breakfast on Sunday but most of them had early flights so I (having chosen an afternoon flight) was on my own. I had breakfast down in the one hotel restaurant that didn't have a bar, LOL. Packed my luggage, made the decision to leave about 10 books and a small tip for the maid, then grabbed my stuff and headed to the airport.
It was only after I was aboard my plane that I realized I hadn't bought one souvenir! But at least I got some great pics of my friends and had a great experience (and no food poisoning! LOL)
I'll post, at another time, some info about the workshops I attended and liked.
RWA National Conference in Atlanta
Mind you, this is still Wednesday, the day I arrived at the conference {g}. After I left the Literacy Signing, I had a chapter meeting to attend (usually Jennifer, Shirley, Patti and I have dinner after this but Patti had to attend the Bookseller's Best Awards--which she WON! and I had the FF&P Gathering to attend.
I was supposed to meet with members of the Mudpuddle, the online crit group of FF&P. Since I got there just a little early, I sat near the door and chatted with other early arrivals then I happened to turn around and saw a cardboard sign proclaiming Crit Group! I quickly made my way over since I was eager to meet the talented and wonderful authors in the group face to face for the first time.
First up was Alicia, one of our list mommies {g} and Frieda (a real, expectant mommy)
Here's Kat and Venus (aka Vee)both extremely talented writers. (Way better writers than I am a photographer!)
And Kristen and Mary.
Teresa and Dorothy
And here's the last Gathering picture--our Mudpuddle members attending the conference.
By 10 PM, I was whipped (I'd gotten up at 4:30 AM to make my flight) so I bid my friends good night and headed to my room. I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow, lol
I was supposed to meet with members of the Mudpuddle, the online crit group of FF&P. Since I got there just a little early, I sat near the door and chatted with other early arrivals then I happened to turn around and saw a cardboard sign proclaiming Crit Group! I quickly made my way over since I was eager to meet the talented and wonderful authors in the group face to face for the first time.
First up was Alicia, one of our list mommies {g} and Frieda (a real, expectant mommy)
Here's Kat and Venus (aka Vee)both extremely talented writers. (Way better writers than I am a photographer!)
And Kristen and Mary.
Teresa and DorothyAnd here's the last Gathering picture--our Mudpuddle members attending the conference.
By 10 PM, I was whipped (I'd gotten up at 4:30 AM to make my flight) so I bid my friends good night and headed to my room. I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow, lol
RWA National Conference in Atlanta
I met up with Beverly Rae and Terey Ramin
Terey is adding my friend, Gerry, a breast cancer survivor, to the dedication of Bewitched, Bothered & BeVampyred 2: FANGS AGAIN (royalties to go to breast cancer awareness / research).
With the madhouse atmosphere in the Grand Ballroom, and knowing I had to get ready for my next meeting, I reluctantly left the Signing.
I did buy one book (after I'd promised myself not to buy any! LOL) I got Patti's Eternal Nights. With that hunk on the cover, how could I refuse?
RWA National Conference in Atlanta
The Signing was awesome. I didn't have a book to sign--Heartstone hadn't been released--but I took the opportunity to meander up and down the rows of authors seeking out my other friends. With over 500 authors present (and probably 2000 or more booklovers eager to get a book from their favorite author), the place was packed and roaring with excitement! I confess that with the books given in my conference tote bag, I wasn't looking to buy any more (I have nightmares about having luggage over the weight limit {g}) but I did want to stop and see my friends.
The first one I saw was Jennifer Green, who forced a piece of chocolate on me (she did, I swear, honest to pete! LOL )
Then I ran into Shirley Hailstock again. I stopped by Patti's spot, took her picture with her holding her newest book, Eternal Nights, but Patti (like me) prefers to keep a low profile, lol. So no picture of her (though if you're reading this Patti--it turned out great!) but I did get one of Robin Owens. She's not a 'friend' though I wouldn't mind calling her one but she does write wonderful books (the 'Heart' series, ie Heart Thief). 
After gushing about Patti's and Robin's books, I moved on and found some fellow Trisk authors.
Betty Hanawa
More later.
The first one I saw was Jennifer Green, who forced a piece of chocolate on me (she did, I swear, honest to pete! LOL )
Then I ran into Shirley Hailstock again. I stopped by Patti's spot, took her picture with her holding her newest book, Eternal Nights, but Patti (like me) prefers to keep a low profile, lol. So no picture of her (though if you're reading this Patti--it turned out great!) but I did get one of Robin Owens. She's not a 'friend' though I wouldn't mind calling her one but she does write wonderful books (the 'Heart' series, ie Heart Thief). 
After gushing about Patti's and Robin's books, I moved on and found some fellow Trisk authors.
Betty HanawaMore later.
RWA National Conference in Atlanta
This year's conference was a blast!
First, because of my sale of Heartstone to Triskelion Publishing, I was able to sport a First Sale Ribbon on my badge--that alone made the conference great, LOL. But I'm getting ahead of myself...as usual {g}
I arrived on Wednesday and when I checked in, the only room they had available for smokers (yes, I know I should quit but that's not the point of today's blog) was on the concierge level. I've never had a room on a concierge level before so when the hotel registrar said I needed a security guard to let me into my room, my first thought was--Huh? Okay. Not every day that I get a 'police escort' to my room but then she discovered that the software that encodes the room cards was working again so I didn't need the 'escort' after all. (Crushing my sense of importance too, lol)
After I unloaded my luggage, I went down to the conference registration area when I ran into an old friend--Shirley Hailstock. Shirley and I have known each other for quite a while. We met originally on an Internet BB for writers, People Together Network (actually, it's not just for writers--there are lots of other rooms for chat but I hang out with the writers). As we're chatting, I hear my name mentioned, turn around and voila! It's Kat Mancos, one of my fellow FF&P crit group members and Star-Crossed Romance Blog member. Small world, she knows Shirley too! (Shirley and Kat are both members of the NJ chapter). As we chat, Kat accompanied me to the registration desk where I ran into Skylar Masey, another member of Star-Crossed! Skylar was working the desk so I didn't get a chance to actually chat with her and, unfortunately, that continued throughout the conference.
Kat and I trundled over to the Goody Room where I picked up my Conference Bag and the darn thing was filled with books! About 18 lbs worth (this is a book lovers dream, let me tell you! LOL) I made a quick detour to my room to drop off the books then met Kat and her friend Tara down at the Champion Bar and Grill for lunch. Our waiter, a school teacher working a summer job at the bar, confessed he was a writer too and we all chatted about writing for awhile until he was forced to return to work.
After lunch, I returned to my room since I needed to unpack and get my clothes ironed (even things that don't wrinkle usually need a touch up after being crammed into a suitcase and the one thing you don't want to be around 200+ other women is mussed {g}). When I finished, I contacted the desk to see if my friend Patti O'Shea had checked in. She had so we chatted on the phone then decided to grab a bite to eat (back to the Champion, lol) before the Literacy Signing.
Continued on the next blog
First, because of my sale of Heartstone to Triskelion Publishing, I was able to sport a First Sale Ribbon on my badge--that alone made the conference great, LOL. But I'm getting ahead of myself...as usual {g}
I arrived on Wednesday and when I checked in, the only room they had available for smokers (yes, I know I should quit but that's not the point of today's blog) was on the concierge level. I've never had a room on a concierge level before so when the hotel registrar said I needed a security guard to let me into my room, my first thought was--Huh? Okay. Not every day that I get a 'police escort' to my room but then she discovered that the software that encodes the room cards was working again so I didn't need the 'escort' after all. (Crushing my sense of importance too, lol)
After I unloaded my luggage, I went down to the conference registration area when I ran into an old friend--Shirley Hailstock. Shirley and I have known each other for quite a while. We met originally on an Internet BB for writers, People Together Network (actually, it's not just for writers--there are lots of other rooms for chat but I hang out with the writers). As we're chatting, I hear my name mentioned, turn around and voila! It's Kat Mancos, one of my fellow FF&P crit group members and Star-Crossed Romance Blog member. Small world, she knows Shirley too! (Shirley and Kat are both members of the NJ chapter). As we chat, Kat accompanied me to the registration desk where I ran into Skylar Masey, another member of Star-Crossed! Skylar was working the desk so I didn't get a chance to actually chat with her and, unfortunately, that continued throughout the conference.
Kat and I trundled over to the Goody Room where I picked up my Conference Bag and the darn thing was filled with books! About 18 lbs worth (this is a book lovers dream, let me tell you! LOL) I made a quick detour to my room to drop off the books then met Kat and her friend Tara down at the Champion Bar and Grill for lunch. Our waiter, a school teacher working a summer job at the bar, confessed he was a writer too and we all chatted about writing for awhile until he was forced to return to work.
After lunch, I returned to my room since I needed to unpack and get my clothes ironed (even things that don't wrinkle usually need a touch up after being crammed into a suitcase and the one thing you don't want to be around 200+ other women is mussed {g}). When I finished, I contacted the desk to see if my friend Patti O'Shea had checked in. She had so we chatted on the phone then decided to grab a bite to eat (back to the Champion, lol) before the Literacy Signing.
Continued on the next blog