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Many elementary teachers teach students to write, but this writing tends to focus only on students writing about themselves or writing short stories. Because students do not spend enough time in the early grades reading nonfiction in science and history, they lack the knowledge--of both content and the nature of nonfiction writing--necessary to undertake research papers in middle and high school. To really teach students how to write, educators must give them examples of good writing found in nonfiction books and require students to read them, not skim them, cover to cover. Reading nonfiction contributes powerfully to the knowledge that students need in order to read more difficult material--the kind they will surely face in college. But more importantly, the work of writing a research paper will lead students to read more and become more knowledgeable in the process. As any good writer knows, the best writing emerges from a rich store of knowledge that the author is trying to pass on. Without that knowledge and the motivation to share it, all the literacy strategies in the world will not make much difference. In this article, the author suggests that schools start assigning a page per year: each first-grader would be required to write a one-page paper on a subject other than himself or herself, with at least one source. At least one page and one source would be added each year to the required academic writing, so that fifth-graders, for example, would have to write a five-page paper with five sources, ninth-graders would have to write a nine-page paper with nine sources, and so on, until each and every high school senior could be asked to prepare a 12-page history research paper with 12 sources. Such a plan would gradually prepare students for future academic writing and could also reduce the need for remedial instruction in writing (and perhaps in remedial reading as well) when students enroll in college. The author contends that if school districts adopted such a plan, it would not take high school teachers nearly as much time as it does now to teach students to write history research papers; students could draw on the knowledge they gained in previous grades to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, formulate an argument or a narrative based on those sources, develop a bibliography, and write and revise numerous drafts. (Contains 1 footnote.)

As concerns mount over the costs and benefits of higher education, it may be worthwhile to glance at the benefits of high school education at present as well. Of course, high school costs, while high, are borne by the taxpayers in general, but it is reasonable to hope that there are sufficient benefits for such an outlay. One of the most frequently heard complaints of college professors is that their new students (and many of their older students) cannot seem to read and write. This author contends that American public high schools in general do not believe in having students read complete nonfiction books, but confine reading assignments to excerpts or textbooks; nor do they believe in having students do the research and writing necessary for serious term papers. In this article, Fitzhugh focuses on the high school flight from reading and writing and explains that American public high schools confine assigned reading mainly to works of fiction and assigned writing to personal and creative efforts. The author argues that if educators do not assign importance to reading nonfiction and writing term papers, it should be no surprise that when their students arrive at college or in the workplace, they cannot read or write very well. (Contains 7 footnotes.)

Although teachers focus on style, fluency, tone, and correct grammar in writing, they rarely emphasize the importance of content. Both the National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges and the NAEP seem to favor emotional and personal writing, at least at the high school level. Judging from their guidelines, both the SAT and the WASL promote fictional nonfiction in their writing sections. This is a great disservice to students, who end up struggling with writing requirements in college. Assigned to remedial classes, they often drop out of college. Fitzhugh, the founder of The Concord Review, offers students a place to publish their academic essays.

It seems likely that the history research paper at the high school level is now an endangered species. Focus on creative writing, fear of plagiarism, fascination with PowerPoint presentations, and lack of planning time have been joined by a notable absence of concern about term papers in virtually all the work on state standards. As a result, far too many American high school students never get the chance to do the reading or writing that a serious history paper requires. In this article, the author describes how history research papers once helped teens develop analytical skills. These days, however, too many of the students are not given that chance to grow. Colleges may continue doing what they can to help teenagers master the rudiments of expository writing, but much of what these high schoolers have lost can never be recouped in remedial coursework.

High school studentsE expository writing is characterized more by emotion and personal experience than by facts. However, the problem is that when these students enter college, they need to know facts, dates and the viewpoints of various experts and authors to write their college papers, and limiting them to writing and thinking almost entirely about themselves in school does not prepare them for future writing tasks.

I liked Diane Ravitch's review of Paul Zoch's Doomed to Fail (Winter 2005), which I also read with great interest. The myopia that overlooks student effort is, in my view, [...]

The author discusses the importance of writing history research paper. He emphasizes that if educators do not prepare students for academic reading and writing, they set up for failure in college and workplace. He says that he develops the journal "Concord Review" as history research paper can restore the importance of academic reading and writing. He stresses that in teaching students how to write, educators should give them writing examples found in nonfiction books.

Presents letters to the editor referencing articles and topics discussed in previous issues of the periodical "Education Next." "Skewed Perspective: What We Know About Teacher Preparation at Elite Education Schools," which discussed the need for teachers to be exposed to the millennia of writings about schooling and education; "The Uniform Salary Schedule," which cited Public Agenda research on American public school teacher.

The author addresses the issue of disciplining students to persuade them to learn. He refers the concept from the disciplinary approach used by then U.S. President Harry Truman when he was a U.S. artillery division leader, where he punished misbehaving officers by demoting them from their current ranks. The author explains that discipline and student responsibility for learning must be formed by teachers to improve the classroom learning experience.