Opinion: Students need more creative writing

Across the United States, schools celebrate National Arts in Education Week during the second week in September. Today, the school takes a day to celebrate creative writing. 

Creative writing is a type of writing important to both the art and ELA (English language arts) programs, so naturally it should appear prominently throughout the ELA curriculum. However, it appears only rarely in classes unless a student specifically takes a course centered around creative writing. 

“Every career can benefit from creative thinking that goes along with creative writing,” said OH Creative Writing teacher Erin Holtz.

Granted that this form of writing can be useful for the futures of so many kids, it should appear a great number of times throughout high school. Despite this, few creative writing assignments are given to students during their high school careers.

When asked how many creative writing assignments teachers had given them, seniors Keagan Reiseck and Alex Flores paint a bleak picture, stating that they had only been given “four” and “one” creative writing assignments, respectively.

Considering how valuable creative thinking is, especially in a world where jobs that require less of it are potentially under threat of replacement by automation, this news is truly concerning. But in a world where people use AI to cheat in ELA, the ability to honestly write creatively is a necessity.

“If you don’t have the opportunity to share your ideas with other people, they’re [going to] either get skewed or not challenged, or you’re not [going to] think about them,” said OH sophomore Leona Bateman.

However, the writing skills it presents to students who put in the work are just as important as the creative aspects of writing.

“[Creative Writing] is a way students can bring out their ideas and views on things, and it’s more diverse that way,” said senior Lily Felker.

Creative writing increases writing skills, as well as develops students’ creative capabilities. Building a student’s confidence is very important to allowing them to write well

“Some people think they’re not creative, [and] I feel like it would help people build confidence in their creativity,” said senior Addison Tyner.

This opportunity for creativity allows students to get more interested in the arts. “English is one of the arts, and I feel like students don’t realize that, and I think doing it more often would make students realize that it’s part of the arts and that it’s fun,” said OH English teacher Abby Bartle.

Creative writing can teach students to think more than they usually would, allowing them to become better writers in general.

“It’s a process of using the [left] side of your brain, which can be more linear because it’s words, and it’s dancing with your right brain because you’re trying to [make] connections,” said Michael Skura, OH Fine Arts Department Chair.

Creative writing allows students to become more balanced individuals, which is what school is all about.

“Kids who do creative writing and poetry [[. . .]] are better, more well-rounded people,” said Laila Green, a junior in her last year of high school, and the the National Art Honors Society President.

Students can choose to write personal works, which can be completed outside of the classroom as well.

When asked about personal writing on his own time, junior Aidan Quach said “I journal about my day, I try to do it every day”.

Additionally, sophomore Taylor Davis said she writes “almost every day”.

Even creative writing in class may lead to students putting more effort in, due to students being more interested in the topic.

“I [once] wrote a 12-page essay for one of my creative writing assignments,” said senior McKenzie Benz.

While creative writing assignments may not be used in entering colleges, the skills they promote carry into colleges and career paths in students’ lives, thus making it an integral part of ELA programs in high schools.