Fight to Write

These kids NEED to use their imaginations!! How else will they learn to dream and create?

Please bring it back. Make it important! It IS important.

The value of creative writing is that, by definition, there is no absolute write or wrong in the final product, thus, placing the burden of evaluation on the student. This creates a life skill that will endure.

It's a tragedy that our school system is catering to the test, leaving out some of the best of what is possible. Creative writing should definitely be a part of our kids' education.

I waited through five years of high school to be eligible to take a creative writing class, and as soon as I was able to, I found out that the class had been removed! As a teen novelist, I was absolutely crushed. I don't want to see anyone else have their dreams stifled. This art form is important, and while technical forms of writing are important, that is no reason to push creative writing to the side,

I'm currently publishing my first novel. If it weren't for creative writing classes in school, I wouldn't be.

I feel so lucky to have had Creative Writing in Junior High, but my teacher sacrificed her prep period to keep it.

We need our children to have a well-rounded education. The sciences AND the arts are equally important in their education.

Creative writing is like writing in cursive. It may seem like an unnecessary skill set, but developing these corners of the brain are just as vital to the growth and education of our children.

I am a senior in high school and am currently taking a Creative Writing class, the first of its kind in years. It's been a very beneficial class, and I've been able to develop my skills a lot more than what I could do on my own. It's also a great help to "technical" writing pieces. Please bring Creative Writing back into schools! It has been the foundation of my writing since Elementary, and I'd like to see this opportunity for more kids!

I think creative writing is a powerful outlet for students, and writing is one of the most critical tools for succeeding in the workforce (over 80% of employers cite it as a top concern)

For me personally, creative writing was one class that got me through junior high. It was the most depressing thing that I could only take it once in my junior high career, because it was my safe haven. I could learn how to write in a way that brought stories to life. Ever since I was little I loved to write, and the knowledge that I could get credit for doing it PLUS getting tips on how to become better made my life so much more worthwhile. That creative writing class I took was one of the best things that happened to me, and I know so many more people that would agree. Please, please, give the kids the chance to have the same opportunity I did.

Creative writing opens up opportunities to give voice to thoughts and feelings that sometimes people are afraid to say outloud. In a day and age of youth who are at high risk for depression and suicide, we need creative writing more than ever to give them the opportunity to express their inner most thoughts and feelings. Expressive writing has a way of healing the soul that technical writing cannot do. Add to this the fact that the more artforms we take out of school, the more beauty we remove from our own society, reducing it to a duller, lackluster version of what it could be.

Creative writing teaches SO much more than the skills to craft a plot-line. Creative writing can inspire children to develop their writing abilities, which may then advance the more "practical" forms of writing necessary for nearly any occupation. But more importantly, creative writing develops empathy, both through the psychological and sociological awareness that develops through the creation of characters, and by strengthening the capacity to imagine oneself in someone else's circumstances. Further, those who go on as creative writers in the world just might write the next Uncle Tom's Cabin, Nineteen Eighty-Four or even Harry Potter—teaching society compassion and clarity, awareness and accountability, loyalty, courage, and kindness. Creative writing has significantly affected the course of history. Who's to say the next "world-changer" isn't sitting inside the head of a middle-school boy or girl, who simply need a creative writing class to ignite their passion?

This matters.

Creative writing should be considered an art like music, dance, and visual art. It should be an integral part, if not one of the main focuses of every child's education. Every human being has a voice, which makes everyone a writer. But so few ever discover their potential. Our schools should be places where children and teens are taught to have a voice, to make it heard, to make it understood. Without that, the human spirit cannot survive.

Go writing!

Creative writing does more than just tell stories. It teaches to think creatively, rationally, logically, and more deeply. It teaches structure, to deconstruct dialogue and descriptions of places and actions, and invites discussion of cause and effect. Creative writing starts discussions of events, ideas, and ideals in either realistic or fantastical settings. First level learning involves rote memorization. Creative writing encourages deeper level learning. Please bring creative writing back to Utah classrooms.

I taught creative writing for nine years at Cedar High school. This program aided students working through cancer, gender identity, feeling left out and other varieties of struggles faced by high school students. These programs save lives and need to stay part of Utah's curriculum. I can cite multiple studies and will if asked.

Helping students find their voices and discover the power of language is paramount. As a YA author, as a CRWR teacher in a public school, and as a father, I am proud to add my name to this petition.