San Jacinto College South Campus will host a two-day event for the National Day on Writing on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and Wednesday, Oct. 22, to appreciate the art of writing in all forms.
Faculty members hold a Creative Writing Virtual Workshop on Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. via Zoom. On Wednesday, departments share writing activities and provide resource booths on the south campus courtyard from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Later that afternoon, staff members will speak in a “Writing Like a Raven: Perspectives on Academic Writing” panel from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room S7.152.
San Jac is one of many academic institutions across the country to recognize the National Day on Writing. The National Council of Teachers of English established the observance in 2009 to recognize the role writing plays in American society.
San Jac South campus will feature opportunities both remotely and on campus. Faculty members and student club representatives offer resources, commentary, games, and prizes.
“We are expanding our event this year … we are going from one day on writing to the National Week on Writing,” says English Professor Christina Crawford, who oversees the event.
The National Day on Writing provides communities with a space to celebrate the art of writing and highlights its importance within the professional sphere and beyond.
“Writing is an essential skill today just as much as it ever has been … there have been numerous studies in what companies look for, what the state looks for in accrediting classes, and in prioritizing student success and learning. It is what employers want,” says Crawford, “writing is an essential skill that is necessary, no matter what you are pursuing—either academically, or out in the wider world.”
Generation Z students use the event to embrace writing as both a form of self-expression and as a career tool. They defy the notion that younger individuals lack connection with the arts and prove that literacy and comprehension persist in the modern generation.
“There are several students already cultivating comprehension and writing as a standard skill … I see and have students impress me in the classroom, every semester,” Crawford said. “There are some students I have who are exceptional. However, there are a lot of students really committed to putting in the work, who want to improve, and who are aware of where they are … a place for learning.”
For more information, contact Professor Christina Crawford at [email protected] or at (281) 998-6150 ext. 3346.
