Mother Jones is doing an ongoing education reporting series from Mission High School in San Francisco. This week’s article asks, “Does Creative Writing Help Kids Succeed?”
Tough question to answer. I think creative writing can help kids, but like the article says, we live in a “test-driven education system,” so creative writing can’t address how to prepare students to pass those tests.
According to Tadd Scott, an English teacher at Mission High, creative writing does a lot for his students. “Scott believes these student portfolios provide crucial outlets for creativity and critical thought. Many students at Mission High have learning disabilities, or are still learning English: For those students who also don’t test well, portfolio work can boost confidence and provide useful writing practice.”
Creative writing, like sports, dancing, or other extra curricular activities, won’t save every kid in at-risk communities, but it does provide an outlet for students to express their feelings, to have their voices heard, especially at such a crucial time in their development. The New York Times recently did an article about the documentary “To Be Heard,” which follows the lives of three Bronx teenagers throughout their four years in high school participating in a poetry class, and how that class and poetry shapes their lives. “By giving the students a route to self-expression, a poetry class helps them deal with the reality of their lives.”
