Why I like to teach people to write

Ms. Leonhard wanted to know how I felt about coaching her freshman boys, so...

This personal blog won't have perfect grammar, mainly because I'm a little lazy.  For the most part, though, I try to write as best I can.  Why?  The answer is simple: writing is one of the single most important skills to know in the world today.  Almost all high-paying jobs, sans sports players, require the employee to be able to communicate well.  Accountants, who can get a ~$70000 starting salary straight out of college, need to be able to clearly state what issues they find and how they can be fixed.  Doctors need to be able to accurately write down symptoms and complications.  Judges and lawyers need to fill out massive amounts of paperwork.  Senators have to be able to talk to the people and to other Senators.  Diplomats have to understand both mangled and professionally translated English.  Engineers have to make detailed technical reports on expensive projects.  Astronauts are required to report on everything they do in space.  Scientists must accurately convey the results of studies and experiments.  I could go on, but I think I've given enough examples.

Why is it, then, that teenagers cannot write?  Not literally, of course, but many students don't understand some simple grammar rules like comma usage, capitalization, and misplaced modifiers.  Do we not want to write because the English language has rules?  Is it because we are too lazy?  I don't know. What I do know is that most professional jobs require competent use of the English language.  I also know that if most of our generation cannot write well, it will turn into a series of problems in the future.  Finally, I know most of the people in my grade and I don't want to see them working at McDonald's for the rest of their lives.  They need to be successful, not minimum wage workers.

So, why do I like to teach people to write?  The answer is, again, simple: writing is one of the easiest skills to learn and is one of the most used and valuable skills in the world.  You can write for business or pleasure, for fun or for a friend, for anything!  Communication is the most powerful tool in the world, and it makes me happy to know that more people from my generation know how to utilize it.