Since when are skills taboo?

As a whole I did enjoy reading Mike Rose's "The Language of Exclusion."  I thought it gave relevant background information on how composition classes came to be and he problems that these courses are facing in universities today.  I did, however find something odd about Roses claim that writing should not be taught as a skill.  He states: "English as a "skill" or "tool subject" that all students had to master in order to achieve in almost any subject and to function as productive citizens. "  So what's the problem with that?  To me, writing has been, and always will be, a skill to master.  There are people who are geniuses in their field, but have difficulty writing a coherent research project, let alone a well formulated argument on their research findings.  Writing, as a skill, can help these kinds of people to relay their ideas to the masses.  Not a whole lot of people can sit down and read charts, making complete sense out of them.

I do think that too much time in Composition classes is spent reviewing the mechanical/grammatical dimensions of language, but I still think they are valuable "skills" that will benefit all learner.s.. not just English majors.   These kinds of skills however should be "taught primarily as a means to learning, analyzing, and criticizing theories and principles." For me, this makes sense for thematically centered courses.  For instance, the class I SI for is spending the entire semester on Ethical dilemmas. Yes the class as a whole needs basic remedial work in regards to grammar, but the professor does no simply give them grammar lessons every day.  He uses their work from the class to show how better mechanics could improve their argument.


Call me crazy, but I am a firm believer in bringing 21st Century skills into the classroom in order to better prepare students for the challenges they will face in the competitive, global world they will enter upon graduation. So what's so wrong with enabling students with these "skills"?  Bringing  technology and whole-person literacy into writing lessons help to enhance the learning experience, they make the material more relevant and engaging for students. And in doing so, teachers  have the ability to assist their students in becoming better, well-rounded people.  So my question is, why is calling writing a "skill" such a bad thing.  Writing is a skill.  One that everybody should spend time working on.  It will do nothing but aid them in all aspects of life in the future.