The habit of writing among students is on the decline, said teachers across schools. To encourage them to write, several institutions are organising creative writing workshops, club activities and literary fests on campus to enhance vocabulary.
The practice of writing has declined more after the pandemic perpetuated by a lack of reading among students, said teachers.
The reluctance to write is across all classes but perhaps more pronounced or visible in senior classes, they said.
“The quality of writing has deteriorated and there is less attention to grammar, structure or sentence construction,” said Devi Kar, director, Modern High School for Girls.
Kar said the emphasis currently is more on communicative English because one is concerned more about communicating what they want to say rather than the usage of words.
The language used on a handheld device is different and yet it is finding its way into formal writing, said teachers.
“Children today are used to the easy option and everything for them has to be comfortable and instant. Writing is neither easy nor instant and they do not push through writer’s block,” said Tina Servaia, principal, senior school, Calcutta International School.
In end January, author Joyne Boyne while addressing students at a city school asked how many of them want to become writers. In a gathering of 300-odd students, barely a couple of hands had gone up.
Boyne said while he was growing up they didn’t have distractions like social media, computers or streaming.
Handheld devices have replaced the love for books, teachers said.
The Calcutta International School curriculum requires students to use laptops in class, Servaia said.
“But we notice children using laptops to take down notes in class, too. So we told them they can use the laptop only when the teacher asks them to,” she said.
Teachers, however, are not averse to students writing on a device.
“They can write on a screen or on paper but they need to have the vocabulary to write,” said Nupur Ghosh, vice principal, Mahadevi Birla World Academy.
The school in the current academic session (2023-24) introduced a vocabulary and spelling club for middle school students.
Once students read, they develop vocabulary that they can use in their writing.
Teachers said students have to learn because there is no alternative to the practice of extensive writing.
“We keep lamenting about it (writing) but we need to work at it,” said Kar.
Several schools organise storytelling sessions and literary fests to encourage reading and writing.
Schools organise author visits to help children develop an interest in reading and writing.
“In order to write meaningfully one has to read. Because children don’t read they don’t have a flow of ideas and are unable to express themselves,” said Amita Prasad, director, Indus Valley World School which organises literary fests.
Our Lady Queen of the Missions School Salt Lake organises internal creative writing competitions.
“The best writings are displayed in the school auditorium. It is a compulsory activity but we see they are reluctant to write,” said Sister Sherly Sebastian, principal. “We have noticed that after the pandemic, parents have started writing for their children in junior classes. They don’t understand that their children have to learn the hard way,” she said.
At BD Memorial Junior School, children are encouraged to write a diary to express themselves. “It is not desirable that our children are losing out on a much-needed skill,” said Suman Sood, director.