sir,please join me in the eng stf group On 8/1/16, Gurumurthy K <[email protected]> wrote: > *".... the limits of your language are the limits of your world.” ... * > > *Ludwig Wittgenstein *Please read article for importance of teaching > students to write well .... this is important both for them to write their > exams ... and generally to write well in life ... > > Source http://www.deccanherald.com/content/561426/art-english-writing.html > > The art of English writing > Sharmila Narayana, August 01, 2016 > > Urgent intervention of teachers, at school and college/university levels, > is needed to inculcate good writing skills. > > Only a few schools and colleges in the country actually teach their > students the art of writing the English language. Yet, these educational > institutions expect their students to write ‘good’ descriptive answers, > especially in the humanities and social sciences. Today, college and > university students suffer from poor writing skills because schools choose > to ignore their responsibility to train students in the art of writing. > > Writing often becomes a traumatic experience for students due to lack of > practice. True, everyone is not a born writer, but this is a skill that can > be acquired through writing. Any skill, over time, erodes if not put to > use, which applies equally to writing too. Moreover, computers are yet to > replace final assessment exams, which are still handwritten. The fact that > students are more comfortable with typing into computers, than writing in > long hand, makes the three-hour exam an ordeal as they have to over-exert > their hand muscles to write. > > Unlike in Western countries, where reading and writing go hand in hand and > are equally important, our education system tolerates all sorts of > ‘violations’ to the written format. With the advent of mobiles, the use of > SMS language has prolifically crept into academic writings. Besides > inappropriate vocabulary, several students liberally use abbreviations that > do not necessarily convey their thoughts, adequately or correctly. > > In today’s ‘gizmo-obsessed’ age, everything is available in ‘compact’ form > which makes our lives easier and simpler. The click of a button provides > immense information, makes global transactions possible, helps connect with > people from different geographies and what not, all seated inside our home. > > Unfortunately, this online information overload also breeds a ‘copy-paste’ > generation. In the process, good writing skills get butchered brutally > amongst the student community. This makes teaching English language, > specifically writing skills, that much more of a challenge. Only a > structured and organised piece of writing reflects clarity of thought that > the writer has developed, to ensure coherence and logical flow. > > The 20th century Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein aptly stated that > “the limits of your language are the limits of your world.” Language is a > means to express ones’ thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively. The > ‘compact generation’ cannot afford to reduce the art of writing to a > ‘capsule format’. > > The dependence on power point style of presentations lead to its overuse > and wean students away from effective note-taking. In fact, writing most > often gets reduced to bullet points and all etiquette of writing – to > maintain a margin or a proper paragraph format – are blatantly flouted. > What is even more appalling is that most often, students are not even > conscious about these oversights. > > Another shocking fact is that students who are weak in writing skills would > have actually scored over 80% in their high school Board exams. The > requirement to read, research and expand the horizon of knowledge gets > drowned in the whirlpool of ‘instant’ information available. As reading > habits deteriorate, it inevitably impacts writing skills too. > Today, English has proved to be a global language and a medium that > connects all academic and professional disciplines. It is necessary to > inculcate good writing skills in students and it is the responsibility of > all subject teachers and not English teachers alone. > > Any error in the use of language, even in history, geography, economics or > science assignments cannot be ignored by these subject teachers. It has to > be a shared responsibility. The need to develop sharp and strong writing > skills has to be emphasised and practiced at the school level itself. The > habit of ‘generous’ marking for shoddy writing, should cease. > > ‘Ethical’ writing > > Stress has to be laid on the importance of ‘ethical’ writing which is > integral to research and independent writing. This implies the need to > refrain from mindless acceptance of the printed word and the tendency to > articulate it as one’s own thoughts. Good academic writing should be > incorporated into the curriculum and be made one of the criteria for > students’ evaluation, irrespective of their discipline. > > Writing is an art that needs to be nurtured through use, and maintained in > all its purity. To mess with this art, amounts to a ‘criminal offence’. > According to the renowned 16th century essayist Francis Bacon, “Reading > maketh a full man; Conference a ready man; and writing an exact man”. In > this technology driven ‘compact’ world, there are no short cuts devised > yet, to master the art of writing. > > If words have to spontaneously overflow in a lucid and an effective manner, > it is necessary to constantly dabble with them. In turn, this makes it > imperative, to develop a strong reading habit too. While reading by itself > may not make one a good writer, it certainly would be the first step to > doing so. > > It is indeed a daunting task to ensure that the English language is free > from corruption as we live in an age driven by media and technology. Urgent > intervention of teachers, both at the school and college/university levels, > is necessary to inculcate good writing skills in the student community. The > American writer, Bill Wheeler rightly points out “good writing is clear > thinking made visible.” > > (The writer is an Associate Professor who teaches English at School of Law, > Christ University, Bengaluru > -- > > <http://www.ITforChange.net/>*Gurumurthy Kasinathan* | Director > IT for Change <http://www.itforchange.net/> > (*In special consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC)* > 91-80-26654134 | 91-9845437730 > Email:[email protected] > ------------------------------ > > -- > *For doubts on Ubuntu and other public software, visit > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions > > **Are you using pirated software? Use Sarvajanika Tantramsha, see > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ > ಇಲಾಖೆಗೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ > ***If a teacher wants to join STF-read > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Become_a_STF_groups_member > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KannadaSTF - ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷಾ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆ" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/kannadastf. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/kannadastf/CANJf2f_dKw1f%3DkVLG%2Bs4EvyGp_oCKienVhRe-%3D5_nFrk%2BK3fnw%40mail.gmail.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >
-- taj -- *For doubts on Ubuntu and other public software, visit http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions **Are you using pirated software? Use Sarvajanika Tantramsha, see http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಇಲಾಖೆಗೆ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ***If a teacher wants to join STF-read http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Become_a_STF_groups_member --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "KannadaSTF - ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷಾ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆ" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/kannadastf. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/kannadastf/CAJnGpNnD%2BbzWMGt23g2aqY45DHbRJ33UM_VNYa1hv9kJk8UzDg%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
