“To Write Well is to Think Clearly”: David McCullough

David McCullough, a renowned historian, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Biography twice, having authored books such as those on Truman and John Adams. Furthermore, he penned popular works on the Panama Canal, Johnstown Flood, Brooklyn Bridge, and the Wright brothers. In a 2002 interview with Bruce Cole about the significance of writing as an instrument of thought and learning, McCullough emphasized the necessity of maintaining funding for arts education in schools, including music, painting, theater, and dance (my emphasis).

He argued that the key to mastering arts lies in the act of creating them. For instance, mastering the piano necessitates actual practice, similarly, writing cannot be learned without putting pen to paper, and thinking itself is closely intertwined with writing. Writing is akin to thinking; the more one writes, the clearer their thoughts become, hence the difficulty in honing writing skills.

He cited the saying, "I'll work my thoughts out on paper," which aptly describes this process. McCullough stressed the importance of increasing writing activities across various subjects, not just in English classes, and suggested that history teachers should evaluate students' writing as well.