At 1:33 PM -0500 2/20/07, Phil Daley wrote:
At 2/20/2007 01:17 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
The reason I believe the literacy level has dropped dramatically is my
experience as an office temp for many years and seeing the bad grammar,
misspelled words, limited vocabulary and lack of coherence in the thought
processes of people my own age (54) and younger. The younger they get, the
worse it seems to be.
That's because the schools today don't care about spelling and
grammar, only "creativity".
Oh, and self-esteem. Let's not give anybody a bad grade, it hurts
their self-esteem.
Lord protect us all from such broad generalizations!! I think you
might both find that the attitudes you (rightly) disparage are no
longer mainstream, but even if they are, there are always exceptions
where there are good teachers.
Yes, grade inflation is real, and it's a problem, but looked at
properly it's simply a recalibration of what the grades actually
mean, and it started in grad schools because of the rule that no
grades below a B counted toward the degree, not in elementary school.
Our older daughter went to a Great Books school, St. John's College,
and they didn't even get grades, but DID sit for a "Don Rag" at the
end of the semesters. But the entire approach, exhausting as it was,
promoted quality thinking and did not reward mediocrity. Our kids
also went to Montessori schools, which had a totally positive
approach without the defects cited.
I am, however, very glad that my parents saw to it that I had the
toughest English teachers in both jr. high and high school, although
I certainly didn't appreciate it at the time! And my mother
definitely knew more spelling rules than I ever have.
John
Phil Daley < AutoDesk >
http://www.conknet.com/~p_daley
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
--
John & Susie Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
