James Lang
John Warner invites you to rethink everything you have learned about education, and writing in particular. Accept that invitation. Anyone who teaches writing will finish this book—written in the author's characteristically personable prose—with the foundations for a new approach to education, along with plenty of concrete ideas for engaging new writing assignments for their students.
Dave Eggers
If we really want to inspire young people to write, the tyranny of the five-paragraph essay must first be eradicated. John Warner has decades of experience turning reluctant writers into proficient and empowered ones. Wise writers, teachers, and rhetoricians will listen to this Illinoisian preach.
P. L. Thomas
An engaging, compelling, and ambitious book. Warner writes extremely well, and his main claims, driven by his expertise as both a writer and a teacher of writing, are solid and nuanced. An excellent addition to courses and programs in which future professors are being taught to teach, Why They Can't Write should be widely read.
Cathy N. Davidson
John Warner’s Why They Can’t Write offers us a plethora of insights into what has derailed education and provides invaluable suggestions for how we can set it back on track again. Where to start? Get rid of the five-paragraph essay and any other formulaic approaches that train students to be bland, passionless writers and thinkers who score points on college entrance exams through pretention, not clarity. Plethora? Why They Can’t Write is common sense, which is to say it is revolutionary. Read it!
Susan D. Blum
In this profound-yet-practical, compassionate, funny, and learned book, brilliant teacher-writer-editor John Warner takes on multiple forms of 'folklore'—not just about writing and genres, but also about teaching and learning. Warner, who hones his own writing practice at Inside Higher Ed, laments the ways imitation writing, imitation learning, and . . . dare I say . . . imitation living result from harmful teaching. Business as usual: beware! Your days are numbered.
Susan Schorn
Why They Can't Write is a much-needed guide for all who are concerned about students' ability to write: teachers, parents, employers, and policymakers. Warner offers a concise, comprehensive assessment of the flawed policies that have handicapped writing instruction, and lays out a new map to guide our teaching. The book's engaging mix of research, practical experience, and common sense makes it a valuable resource for anyone who cares about good writing and good teaching.
From the Publisher
An engaging, compelling, and ambitious book. Warner writes extremely well, and his main claims, driven by his expertise as both a writer and a teacher of writing, are solid and nuanced. An excellent addition to courses and programs in which future professors are being taught to teach, Why They Can't Write should be widely read.—P. L. Thomas, Furman University, editor of Becoming and Being a Teacher: Confronting Traditional Norms to Create New Democratic Realities
If we really want to inspire young people to write, the tyranny of the five-paragraph essay must first be eradicated. John Warner has decades of experience turning reluctant writers into proficient and empowered ones. Wise writers, teachers, and rhetoricians will listen to this Illinoisian preach.—Dave Eggers, cofounder of 826 National and The International Congress of Youth Voices
Why They Can’t Write offers a powerful diagnosis of what’s wrong with how we teach students to write and what we expect that writing to look like—the dreaded 'five paragraph essay,' for starters. But as Warner makes clear, the future of writing instruction doesn’t demand more efficient teaching machines to assess students’ vocabulary and punctuation. Rather, Warner calls for more meaningful writing experiences for students—experiences that encourage inquiry and recognize students’ (and teachers’) humanity.—Audrey Watters, Hack Education
John Warner’s Why They Can’t Write offers us a plethora of insights into what has derailed education and provides invaluable suggestions for how we can set it back on track again. Where to start? Get rid of the five-paragraph essay and any other formulaic approaches that train students to be bland, passionless writers and thinkers who score points on college entrance exams through pretention, not clarity. Plethora? Why They Can’t Write is common sense, which is to say it is revolutionary. Read it!—Cathy N. Davidson, The Futures Initiative, author of The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux
From the classic five paragraph essay to standardized writing and techno-hype, Warner has traced the many paths that intersect in our current Land of Bad Writing Instruction. Fortunately, he has mapped an escape route as well. An invaluable book for anyone who cares about creating and nurturing lifetime writers in the classroom.—Peter Greene, Curmudgucation
In this profound-yet-practical, compassionate, funny, and learned book, brilliant teacher-writer-editor John Warner takes on multiple forms of 'folklore'—not just about writing and genres, but also about teaching and learning. Warner, who hones his own writing practice at Inside Higher Ed, laments the ways imitation writing, imitation learning, and . . . dare I say . . . imitation living result from harmful teaching. Business as usual: beware! Your days are numbered.—Susan D. Blum, Notre Dame University, author of I Love Learning; I Hate School: An Anthropology of College
Why They Can't Write is a much-needed guide for all who are concerned about students' ability to write: teachers, parents, employers, and policymakers. Warner offers a concise, comprehensive assessment of the flawed policies that have handicapped writing instruction, and lays out a new map to guide our teaching. The book's engaging mix of research, practical experience, and common sense makes it a valuable resource for anyone who cares about good writing and good teaching.—Susan Schorn, The University of Texas at Austin
John Warner invites you to rethink everything you have learned about education, and writing in particular. Accept that invitation. Anyone who teaches writing will finish this book—written in the author's characteristically personable prose—with the foundations for a new approach to education, along with plenty of concrete ideas for engaging new writing assignments for their students.—James Lang, Assumption College, author of Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning
Peter Greene
From the classic five paragraph essay to standardized writing and techno-hype, Warner has traced the many paths that intersect in our current Land of Bad Writing Instruction. Fortunately, he has mapped an escape route as well. An invaluable book for anyone who cares about creating and nurturing lifetime writers in the classroom.
Audrey Watters
Why They Can’t Write offers a powerful diagnosis of what’s wrong with how we teach students to write and what we expect that writing to look like—the dreaded 'five paragraph essay,' for starters. But as Warner makes clear, the future of writing instruction doesn’t demand more efficient teaching machines to assess students’ vocabulary and punctuation. Rather, Warner calls for more meaningful writing experiences for students—experiences that encourage inquiry and recognize students’ (and teachers’) humanity.
