“Complaining about the state of education today does no good if we cannot offer solutions to solve the problem. So, why wait for a prompt. Get out a piece of paper, an old-fashioned pen or pencil, or turn on that computer, and write something that just might make a difference.”

By Cecil James

To begin, allow me to introduce myself. I am a guest writer for this blog. I was invited to write an opinion piece. Initially, I requested a prompt from my host. As soon as I sent my request, I felt a psychic twinge that told me my host might bristle at that because I believe it is expected, given the discussions we have had, and this long awaited opportunity, that I should not need a prompt. It hit me that I should well know what to write about without needing further stimuli. So, I decided to move forward without further assistance. In advance, dear reader, I thank you for your time. It is worthy of my respect.

I will tell you, as an introduction, that I am a product of the public school system…somewhere in Ohio. I will also tell you that I have had experience with the public school system outside the state of Ohio in an urban and racially diverse setting. I will also tell you I graduated from high school and college. My university experience occurred somewhere in Ohio where I earned a BA in Technical Writing. However, I am not fond of Technical Writing. I am much more inspired by creative writing. I will tell you I have had university experience outside the state of Ohio. And finally, I will say that I have worked with educators for many years, and I am an educator as well. I trust that will suffice for the time being.

My title here is not correct grammar. I know that. I am fond of colloquialisms or local color in writing. Slang has its place so long as one knows where to place it. A brief analysis of my title indicates that I have not used the adverb “awful” correctly. If I was using it correctly, the title would read: I Get Awfully Tired of Bad. But, I get awful tired of bad. That is my title, and I am sticking to it. I love poetic license. That is the right to use words as I see fit. However, given my experience with education, I realize that not all writing is poetry. And the use of poetic license may risk miscommunication and misinterpretation. Therefore, correct grammar and standards certainly have a place in good writing.

The primary goal of writers is to hook our audience. If we are preaching to the choir, then we risk putting the choir to sleep. If we do not meet our audience half-way, then we may never meet them. I do not wish to, in any way, come across as a superior writer. I don’t believe I am. I was never fond of dealing with punctuation and grammar in school. I always found it to be grunt work. Still, I understood the necessity of it. I understood that there is a reason for standards and uniformity. Without it, we would have chaos. Some of you may be cheering that on. If you are, you have never had children, or you have never risked sending your child out alone to the first day of school (I walked to elementary school without my mommy) in that world of chaos you claim to enjoy. Also, you must not remember very well a time when you deeply desired order in your own life. And if you never have desired that, you should be looking elsewhere for guidance. Knowing my audience, as a writer, is the key to being a successful writer. My goal is to hook as many of you as I can with poetic license and standards.

Good writing is something that never goes out of style. Thought provoking ideas never grow tired. We never fall asleep when we are inspired to move by great literary works. Complaining about the state of education today does no good if we cannot offer solutions to solve the problem. So, why wait for a prompt. Get out a piece of paper, an old-fashioned pen or pencil, or turn on that computer, and write something that just might make a difference. Just try. Go ahead and use poetic license. Go ahead and risk using bad grammar. But don’t insult your audience, dear reader, with nonsense.   Writing requires respect for your audience…particularly if you are submitting it for a grade. Signing up for university credits, by contract, states that you are searching for a critic who cares. We care. We hope you do too.