Ann E. Berthoff's "Learning the Uses of Chaos"

Ann E. Berthoff  --“Learning the Uses of Chaos”

(Pages 647-51)

Blogger: Vickie Conner

“Proclaim” is not enough, as Berthoff declares in conjunction for proponents of process writing. Any time we teachers “proclaim” a specific pedagogical practice, it takes more than simply to proclaim. We must teach what we proclaim; we must follow through with classroom research and discover what makes writing so personal and effective. We find out what does not work in teaching writing. This is what good teachers do. In essence, the proclamation is nullified.

In order to teach and improve writing, the process, as well as the synthesis of writing, needs to be taught and discussed. A derivative of Berhoff’s essay “Learning the Uses of Chaos” is one that is most imperative to teaching writing: writing is not solely a process, such as a one-size-fits-all five paragraph essay. Some composition teachers seem to believe that if they teach sentence, paragraph, and essay in all of their structure, that students will master any writing. This is simply not true. Students need to think; they need to think about what they are writing, for whom they are writing, and what these readers expect. A simple essay format does not teach this type of critical thinking.

This thought of separating process from meaning (thought) reminds me of the dilemma of whether to teach phonics or whole language to young readers, and, in my opinion, these need to be taught simultaneously and contextually. This also holds true in the teaching of grammar/conventions of writing. As Berthoff so pragmatically explains, she uses her cooking analogy, which “brews” a perfect soupé: it all depends on what is on the shelf, what flavors are desired,

For example, students need to know that three factors come into play when choosing a topic: 1) Am I interested in the topic? 2) Do I know a bit about my topic? 3) Does the topic matter to an audience today? Is the writing relevant? Berthoff mentions the misuse of the pre-writing stage in myriad classrooms as outlining; however, outlining, in essence, is a shorthand version of the actual drafting stage. Pre-writing allows a writer to think about and choose a new angle, for we know as writers that new discourse is branched off of old trees. If students think of writing as an isolated activity and carries no relevancy for their lives, then the wrong message is being portrayed. Students need to understand and discover in myriad moments of discourse invention that new writing derives from the birth of a baby, a tragedy such as a hurricane, or simply construing everyday text. We discuss these moments with students, we generate new ideas, and they discover new angles of writing. When students find a passion in a dogmatic conversation, then new discourse is already in the making, and students figure it out through their own synthesis of a particular topic that perhaps is discussed in class or is perusing the media. Yes, we need to teach students to think to write.