I mentioned yesterday that I’ll be preaching tomorrow at church. Without giving away the full context of how I’ll be using the following quote in tomorrow’s message, I wanted to share it with you.
It’s something Professor Brian Cambourne said at an education conference I attended in Singapore back in 1986. I wish I could share the entire lecture that he gave but I only have it in video format and I’m not going to transcribe it all for you. Sorry.
What’s he saying? To over simplify, he’s saying that the very act of writing helps us to map out our thoughts and helps us learn. The processes that we use for writing are more powerful than the acts of simply speaking or listening.
Most bloggers would know this to be true. Even in the simple act of writing a blog post we can write, read, correct, read, restructure and read again before we finally hit the publish button. We take care to make sense and to be understood and it is in this process that we often more fully develop our own understanding of the subject matter.
Cambourne’s big concern is that most of us don’t engage with the written form of language nearly enough. Somewhere in the process of learning literacy we have adopted the thought that we’re not very good at writing and that it’s not something that most of us would do voluntarily without very good reason.
Even though the standard is sometimes less than brilliant, blogging has at least got millions of people mapping out their thoughts through writing.
What about you? Do you find writing difficult? How much do you write each day? Do you find that writing helps you clarify things in your own mind? Does it help you learn?
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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I’m so glad somebody finally asked these questions! To me blogging is my way of an extra devotional that I create and get can truly worship through researching, studying, and best of all writing God’s word. I find it liberating and addicting! Love your blog and praying for you “Down Under”! Your Bro, Donny
Thanks Donny, good to hear from you.
This whole topic has fascinated me for years. It has such huge ramifications for so many areas of our lives.
Obviously I’ll be talking about its possibilities in the spiritual realm tomorrow but it can reach every part of life.
for me its a fantastic outlet now that i don’t get to preach as much!
its a place to dump stories ideas and to make sense of what goes on for me.
i am a crappy journaller, but i do enjoy the less introspective world of the blog
But the question is – is typing the same as writing (as in with a pen or pencil)?
What an excellent quote! May I borrow it and of course give credit to the author and link back to you. Wish I could hear you deliver a message, will you have an on-line version?
I don’t think I told you yet, but Blogger messed up my blog so I am using this one from now on:
http://thinkingonablog.blogspot.com
Sadly I don’t actually proof-read many of my post before I send them onto the web so everyone just assumes my English is dreadful!
Your post, however, reflexs a lot of how us bloggers feel about writing.
Spot on Rodney! Wish I could hear your message. Am sure it’ll be great!
How inspiring. Wish I could hear your message!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Rodney,
Thanks for the quote. I do think writing helps us clarify our thoughts, and maybe even to discover what interests or concerns us.
I don’t always find writing difficult but sometimes I find it difficult to blog – especially as I’m never sure who I’m writing for. I write e-mails every day, and blog every few days. Sometimes I write in a journal or write story ideas down (maybe even a story!).
Writing helps me learn because I’ll want to know more about the subject I’m writing about. However, I’m more likely to remember stuff if it’s well written and I don’t have to take notes – writing/typing adds a step that messes up my concentration. š So now you know how much I can write with little provocation.
Hope everything goes well on Tuesday. If it gets too scary, pretend you’re at the beach!
Best wishes,
Dee
The pen may be mightier than the sword but does is the computer as mighty as the pen? Good question, juice. I still find that writing on a computer helps me to map out my thoughts.
Barbara, feel free to quote Prof Cambourne. I’m sure he’d be fine with getting his message out more widely. š
I don’t find your English to be that bad, David. Your posts always maange to communicate well and demonstrate that you’ve thought through what you’re posting.
Thanks Kitty and Yan. The message seemed to go well. I survived anyway and a few people thanked me for what I prepared. I haven’t preached for a while so I may have been a littel rusty. š
Thanks for your thought, Dee. I’m not much of a ‘note taker’ myself but I do enjoy the writing process. Thanks for your wishes for tomorrow. I’ll try to think of the beaches at Rottnest.
Rodney, I really liked this post! You are one of the best writers – I’m not sure why – I just know you are easy to read – it’s always easy to follow and understand – and so interesting, too.
I know I need to write more. Of course making notes at work, organizing them to help me understand the processes and to remember what has been done and what needs to be done, is crucial. But I’ve come to realize that some sort of organized writing in my personal life could make it more “valuable” also. Just as in work, I need to understand the processes and remember and understand what has been done and what needs to be done.
Writing, as in material that I know other people will read (blog comments, blog posts, letters, etc.) is not easy for me. But I think it’s because I want it to be “correct.” (I’m not sure why. I don’t think I’m a “perfectionist.”) I re-read it numerous times. I struggle to use the best words and the best punctuation. But I think I’m liking the results more and more!
Thanks for sharing your writing!