Writing Across the Spectrum

In my LLED411 class our book, "Because Writing Matters", talks about the importance of writing and the benefits of utilizing writing skills in all subjects, not just English. Basically Chapter One of the book says that not enough schools encourage writing in multiple subjects.

I'm not sure what your high schools were like, but when I was in school I wrote in every subject. In my science classes I had to write lab reports, in my math classes I would write out explanations for open-ended word problems, and in my history classes I would write research papers. Writing was covered in every course. I believe that this greatly enhanced by writing skills and it would be beneficial for all schools to integrate writing into all subjects.

I think that a lot of the problem is that teachers in other subjects simply don't know how to teach writing. It's a difficult task. However, rather than ignoring this problem, teachers should work together to bring writing into all subjects.

Do you feel that integrating writing into other subjects would strengthen student's writing skills? What were your high school writing experiences like?