In school, while most people struggled with writing, I comfortably crafted story upon story. Not only was I easily able to create works of fiction, but I could also write factual essays with ease. I have always used writing to pour my heart out, weave magical tales, or explain concepts. Not only do the words come effortlessly to me, but the structure of writing does as well. Up until high school, I don't ever remember being formally taught how to construct a paragraph. Somehow, I always just knew. Once I became a teacher, writing instruction was an area in which I thrived.
When my son was young, he had fine motor issues. These issues made it extremely difficult for him to physically write. Because of trying to catch up with motor skills, he fell behind in writing instruction, or so I thought. It wasn't until going into 4th grade that his fine motor skills were on par with a child his age. I wasn't too concerned because I knew that I was strong in writing and could help. For him, writing is extremely difficult and doesn't make sense. He's a logical person, I tried to explain it as logically as I could. We made a lot of progress before we had yet, another, set back. Going into 5th grade, he was so far behind in writing that I honestly didn't think he could ever catch up. Not only that, but his confidence has been shot and he truly hated to write. Though I had given him the basic formula for writing, I wasn't sure he could even apply it with how low his confidence was. Then, my son got so very lucky and had the best fifth grade teachers ever. Now, going into 8th grade, he's a decent writer. Storytelling is still very difficult for him. Though he reads more than anyone I know, adults included, trying to find words to make stories of his own is not his forte, but the structure of writing is correct. He still does the bare minimum to get by, but as his confidence grows, I believe his writing will also grow.
Sunshine, on the other hand, is more like me with her writing. Words and ideas easily flow from her. She can sit down and write for hours. The stories that she writes are well crafted and filled with vibrant word choices. For factual works, she has evidence that supports her topic. Sunshine, however, lacks structure. She has the potential to be a phenomenal writer. I have tried, many, many times to help her with this, but she is stubborn and believes that if you try to make it better, you are saying what she has written is not good. Next year, Sunshine has the same 5th grade team and I'm hoping they can help her with structure since she won't listen to me.
Writing is so important, yet, in today's society, we put very little emphasis on it. Writing has become a thing of the past. Everything that that people want to say has become abbreviated to fit into the number of characters you can post on social media.