Why Johnny Can't Write

by Myra J. Linden, Arthur Whimbey

The authors of this book, both experienced teachers, examine the controversy surrounding two popular methods for teaching writing -- the "process" approach and its offspring, Writing Across the Curriculum. Both have recently been called into question for their ineffectiveness. An alternative lesser-known procedure called "sentence combining," which has been proven successful in numerous studies over the past fifteen years, finally is gaining the attention it deserves. Using the sentence combining approach, the authors present a rationale for re-thinking and re-tooling the English classroom and consequently making the entire educational system work more effectively.

This book is useful for teachers at any level, especially those involved in writing instruction. It is also worthwhile reading for those wishing to improve their writing skills. Doing the sample exercises will strengthen writing skills and provide a solid foundation for a lifelong program of language growth.

140 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

Reviews

[Tasshin Fogleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimbey and Linden review an assortment of frequently-used pedagogical techniques for teaching writing in America (including WAC, which was and I believe is used in the Hingham Public School systems), discusses their history, and attacks most techniques as ineffective. As an alternative, they introduce the techniques of sentence-combining (SC) and text-reconstruction (TRC).

I disagree with another reviewer that the book is merely an advertisement. While they do mention Whimbey's work frequently, there are a few problems with this facile classification. First of all, both SC and TRC can easily be replicated without Whimbey's books. I plan to do this at both of my educational jobs. Second, the book is clearly trying to inform teachers and administrators about the failings of pedagogies like WAC and process writing, while advocating for their replacement by SC and TRC. While Whimbey surely stands to profit from the spread of SC and TRC, I wouldn't be surprised if his main motivation was trying to fix America's problems with reading and writing. Forgive me for being too generous if he is more selfish than that—I got a lot out of the book myself!

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. Every other chapter was a diatribe on the current education system and every other chapter was a promotional for the author's other books. In other words the whole book was advertising for their book, 'Analytic Writing and Thinking'. It sounds like a great book, btw.