I recall a teacher many years ago saying something like, “If you can’t put it in words, you don’t understand it.” That’s an interesting thought to consider – the relationship between words and concepts (ideas) and our ability to understand. As well as our ability to communicate well. I remember being greatly challenged by his comment.
My recent thinking about reading and writing being principally about thinking (!) has been stimulated a great deal by some of the things that Peter Biles has been saying of late.
“Even if students don’t know it, learning how to write is a tool for learning how to think, and not only to think, but to grow into a mature and well-balanced human being.” Peter Biles
And that is the thing about writing, isn’t it. It doesn’t just make us better communicators, more fundamentally it helps us think. It forces us to think. It trains us to think. Having to put things into words (our own words) expands our vocabulary, drives our understanding, and fuels effective communication.
Of course, reading and writing have together been considered interconnected building blocks of education for millennia. They were two of the three planks that were considered the basic essentials of an education. You may remember the 3 ‘r’s – reading, writing, and rithmetic!
When we speak of writing most of the time we’re not talking about the learning and hand-eye coordination it takes to form letters, spell words correctly, and employ essential grammar. Those things are important too (not ‘to’ or ‘two’). But when we speak of writing we have in mind the ability to express ourselves well using words, sentences, and paragraphs, at least. If it’s not coherent we’re not writing.
In a previous post I made the observation that reading in essence means listening to what others have to say. I was pleased to see Peter Biles reference the humble attitude toward others that we need to have if we are going to listen to them (or read them).
“Reading is a central part of writing well. To write anything of value, you have to read the works of others. Reading well requires humility. Reading entails admitting that there’s a lot to gain from engaging with the work of others… Attention is at the center of both practices…. Reading well leads to writing well … Writing helps you attend more deeply to the world outside your own head, so yes, everyone would do well to make a habit of putting words on a page from time to time.”
Not only is there a vital connection between reading and writing, both depend on sustained attention. I remember it being said somewhere not too long ago that people receive love when we give them our attention. And I have to believe that’s true. And if it is, it would give us pause to think that our attention to language skills is essential in our love for others.
On that note, check out Tim Challies’ article ‘Reading out of Love for Others’.
Unfortunately for us and for others, our ability to pay attention has not been served well by the massive amounts of digitized information we have been living with in these days. Biles goes so far as to suggest we are seeing a ‘universal cognitive decline’. And this is no alarmist rhetoric either because there is both anecdotal and empirical evidence to back it up.
“A new study shows that people are struggling more than ever to read, concentrate, and solve problems. The research comes just a few months after Oxford’s indicative decision to make ‘Brain Rot’ its 2024 ‘Word of the Year’. Common experience itself lends itself to the conclusion that we are struggling to focus, that our attention is fragmented, and that simply thinking about one issue for more than a few seconds is difficult.”
I would point out that TV/Video format makes us weak on both fronts, reading and writing. And I think it helps to reflect back on the thought that reading in essence means listening to what others have to say. When I read I recognize the fact that someone has taken ample time to not only think through and research information well, but to frame their thoughts carefully and thoughtfully. And if I were to limit my communication to the spoken word that would mean my communication would be more or less extemporaneous. That is to say that I will not have put enough careful thought (or research) into those words. And undoubtedly I will end up having to eat a regular diet of my own words!, all those things that “don’t come out right.” I will lack the ability to speak well; that is to speak in such a manner that others understand me because I have first understood. All of this makes both reading and writing not only indispensable skills but highly relational activities.
There are so many questions. And what about critical thinking? And then what about those literacy stats I posted in my last article? Might be good to take another look at those in light of everything I’ve put into words here. But then there is that attention thing! Even the length of this article appears to present a challenge for us in these days!