The Importance of Writing for Technical Students

Often my students wonder why they need to take a writing class. Today, while reading Writing Next by Graham and Perin, I came upon this quote:

"A wide range of jobs require employees to produce written documentation, visual/text presentations, memoranda, technical reports, and electronic messaging. The explosion of electronic and wireless communication in everyday life brings writing skills into play as never before. Recent reports by the National Commission on Writing (2004, 2005) reveal that the majority of both public and private employers say that writing proficiency has now become critical in the workplace that it directly affects hiring and promotion decisions"(Graham and Perin, 2007, 8).

And

"... about 30% of government and private sector employees require on-the-job training in basic writing skills. Private companies spend an estimated $3.1 billion annually on remediation, and state governments spend an estmated $221 million annually..." (Graham and Perin, 2007, 9)

The authors of this meta-study also brought up the point that this being an information age, where knowledge is the stock and trade of our world, behooves workers to be highly literate. These authors literally predict that the devide between the haves and the have nots will be determined by their ability to understand and use information: "the power of enlightenment, the power of self-improvement and self-assertion, the power to achieve upward mobility, and the power over their own lives and the families' ability to thrive and succeed" (Graham and Perin, 2007, 2).

As my students often struggle with the reality of the general education classes, often wondering how they will "use" these skills in the "real world," I wonder if somehow me have missed the boat in educating the public. It is, quite simply, the American liberal arts education, promoted to the status of requirement for accredidation in the 1900's, that has pushed this country to be the prosperous, productive, and independent thinking nation. It is the "general education" focus that has brought our nation to its place at the top... We must not loose this edge!

Graham, S. and Dolores, P. (2007) Writing Next. New York: Carnegie Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/WritingNext.pdf.

Chance Favors the Prepared Mind

Last night, I we had a fabulous guest speaker in class. He cited one of his favorite quotes from a Stephen Segal movie, of all things. The quote states: "Chance favors the prepared mind." This hit home. This is more than my job... this is my calling. I have spent my life seeking to be "the prepared mind" and then seeking to help others find their path to the prepared mind. Writing is, after all, the art connecting the mind of a writer with that of a reader.