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Subject:Re: re. Report on how kids can't write well From:Andreas Ramos <andreas -at- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Sun, 14 Aug 1994 09:33:51 -0700
Dear Arthur,
have you seen this "New Spelling" stuff? Kids are allowed to spell words
in any which way. Dey rite reel gud.
The problem is not the spelling, or sentence construction. The problem is
the ability to think in paragraphs and pages. If you talk with a German
student, he or she will discuss things with long point by point analysis,
terminating with conclusions. American kids only make one line responses
along the lines of "it made me feel good" or "i didn't like it."
Just ask any educated, young person from Northern Europe what they think
about the conversations skills of Americans.
yrs,
andreas
_____________________________________________________________________________
Andreas Ramos, M.A. Heidelberg Sacramento, California
On Thu, 11 Aug 1994, Arthur Comings wrote:
> To paraphase the language of this report, according to my personal
> observations, at least 33% of educators and 30% of employers can't
> write worth beans themselves.
> You should see the stuff my kid brings home: from her teachers, from
> the school itself, and from extra-curricular activity sponsors. These
> aren't complicated essays; they're only a few sentences here and there,
> and as often as not they're wrong in some way.
> I sent a polite note about faulty capitalization in a spelling list
> awhile ago -- the kids were learning that the only right way to spell
> "autumn" and other seasons was with a capital letter -- and the teacher
> never responded, except for an offhand remark to my kid that "it could
> be either way," but she didn't change the list that all the kids had to
> memorize.
> Hey -- the Parents' Club doesn't even know how to spell its own name,
> and I don't either. In the same flyer it can be Parents, Parent's and
> Parents'. I'm afraid to ask.
> I don't know how the kids can learn to write if their teachers can't.
> Looks like we`ll always have lots of jobs for technical editors.
> Arthur Comings
> GeoQuest
> Corte Madera, California
> atc -at- corte-madera -dot- geoquest -dot- slb -dot- com
