Genius vs. Skill: Can you cook writers in a microwave oven?

There was a recent discussion about “Skill vs. Talent” on the Writing Program Administrators listserv (aka WPA-L)  which really highlighted for me the divide we see in writing instruction – a divide that I blame for so much very bad teaching of writing when we (the field of education) know better – and have known better for decades. It comes down to two simple questions and the way that you answer them determines where you fall on the writing teacher spectrum: What does it mean to be a writer and what is writing?

Read the full “Genius vs. Skill: Can you cook writers in a microwave oven?” post on my Metawriting blog at: http://metawriting.deannamascle.com/