TORRINGTON – It doesn’t need to be argued, the immense importance whichcomes along with each given subject in school. 

Whether it be elementary or secondary, each and every subject has a vital place within the minds of each teacher as well as every student.

Math and science by reputations tend to be the main event on the report card, always challenging the mental and even emotional patience of the students.

Geography, history and social studies are obviously indispensable components in public education. As each and every history teacher has probably put it at some point, “if we do not learn from our history, we are doomed to repeat it.”

Then of course electives have the ultimate capacity to engage and broaden the minds of each pupil who may be uncertain of where they would like to go in life. Electives always tend to be a favorite, as they always open up such interesting potential career paths.

Since assuming his position as Torrington Middle School Principal last summer, James Catlin has been an incredibly passionate advocate for making education enjoyable, beneficial, compassionate and inclusive for all who walk through the doors.

Both staff and students alike.

Regardless of any particular subjects, Catlin has a firmly held belief that they are all important and should be fun and gratifying at least in some capacity for every student.

There is one subject however that Catlin feels may have subliminally been overlooked in recent years.

“We always talk in schools about teaching kids how to think,” Catlin began. “If we want them to think, we have to teach them how to write. There’s been research that the better you are at writing, the better you are at thinking.”

Once again reiterating that each subject is as important as another, Catlin explained in depth just how powerful a tool he believes writing really is. Particularly within this age group, the more the students write the more their brains become turned on toward everything else.

“We know that writing is thinking,” Catlin continued. “You have to formulate communication, and writing can be hard. Sometimes when we write it down, we are able to articulate it.”

Catlin used a recent example of a writing competition that emphasized his point on engaging the brain, and communication in an appropriate yet powerful way with another.

“So far I’ve got letters from kids saying they are learning to be themselves, to maybe no longer wanting to be with a particular group and forming their own path. I’ve also gotten an essay from a girl saying this is the best school she’s ever been in, and doesn’t want to leave which tugs my heart strings a bit. And I’ve also had kids turn in some poetry pieces. This is actually the highest concentration of college educated adults that most kids will ever have, and I am far more interested in the thought process with what is coming out of their brains.”

According to the TMS principal, with recent emphasis on social media and technology, the focus on reading and writing has taken a concerning backseat in recent years. As Catlin firmly put it, they are tools that educators should never let decline and should always keep students engaged in one way or another.

“I think writing is falling off everywhere, not just here,” Catlin said. “I think everyone wants to be a beast, until it’s actually time to be a beast. To get there our music and band teachers always say if you want to get good at something, it’s fifteen minutes a day. The more literate we are the better and more articulate we can be, and the more we can share ideas.

“I’m always up for a health political debate,” Catlin continued. “But let’s do it civilly. Has our country lost our minds over this stuff to where we can’t have a conversation anymore? That’s a result of when thinking dies. Humans are notoriously bad about that. This is about sparking conversations. Human beings have this ability to communicate, and it takes on so many forms. It’s talking, it’s reading, it’s Tick-Tock and it’s YouTube. We need all of that, but we need speaking and listening skills. And the more writing we can do, the better it’s going to positively affect all other avenues of communication.”

Catlin further noted that the powerful force of reading and writing does not stop at merely turning in a paper and receiving a grade. As the principal put it one step further, the feedback one gets from their work is just as crucial as a student turning it in.

“When a kid writes, a teacher gives them feedback so that they know if they are on the guardrail. The right feedback is where a teacher has written something such as, ‘nicely developed, but needs a little more.’ This teacher is really catching a glimpse of what good writing can do, and just how hard it is to do it. Just because you can sit down and do a times table in 50 seconds doesn’t mean you can teach someone to do that. We know that by providing proactive feedback they can practice correctly. How to you get to Carnegie Hall? It’s actually practice and getting feedback. The world around us is giving us feedback, and we are a part of it. That’s what middle school kids are. They can be egocentric where they world revolves around them, and that’s part of their current stage of development. They need to learn that their perspective is not the only perspective. That feedback loop is very important, otherwise we start believing what’s in our own heads. We need feedback to say that might be a crazy idea, but let me tell you why it’s not.”

Lastly, Catlin pointed out regardless of what a student’s strengths or weaknesses may be, the tool of writing is long lasting and can apply to virtually any career field.

“It like muscle memory so to speak. When you do the work it, gets easier and better. You have to find that sweet spot where we are working hard, but it’s not so hard that you can’t do it. That’s a great teacher in my opinion, when they can read what students write and have a good idea of where the student is in language arts. Some kids articulate very well and some don’t, but the more they do it the better they are going to get at it over time.

“Most educators come with a bias that school is a good place and we have a hard time getting the perspectives of kids, and that’s just not it. I get that not all kids have to go to college, but they all need to be learners.”