I agree with others who have commented on this thread that it's important to explain to the student that, in higher ed and in the business world, this type of grammar would be viewed negatively. That then gives the student an idea of the skills and language he or she would need in order to be successful in the "game."
However, I would also take this opportunity to address with the student the power dynamics of the situation - how powerful gatekeepers (such as educators) use language as a means to ridicule or demean others and/or prevent the access of individuals and groups into powerful social institutions based on their perceived lack of intellect. This issue is essentially about power and privilege, and it connects to race, class, and gender. This is a very important component of this "teaching moment" that needs to be addressed, in my opinion. In short, I would critically analyze the gatekeeping with the student. Denise **************************************** Denise L. Johnson Sociology Bellevue Community College 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, A251 Bellevue, WA 98007-6484 (425) 564-5143 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robert Greene Sent: Friday, May 19, 2006 12:38 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [email protected] Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: An e-mail from a student... And how did they get out of grammar school and middle school? But what an opportunity for a sociological discussion of this phenomenon rather than looking to blame the institutions. >>> GIMENEZ MARTHA E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 05/19/06 1:29 PM >>> I think there are two issues here: 1. How to deal with student who write in such appalling fashion - you were kinder than I would have been :) 2. Why do we find this kind of student in our classes? What was the admissions office doing? What were our colleagues doing? What were such students doing in high school? And why did high schools let them graduate? Sigh..... Martha Martha E. Gimenez Department of Sociology Campus Box 327 University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, Colorado 80309 Voice: 303-492-7080 Fax: 303-492-8878 ******************* On Fri, 19 May 2006, Michael Klausner wrote: > I received this e-mail from a student who was in my class last term. I > replied that the horrendous punctuation, grammar, spelling was not > appropriate when communicating with anyone except friends, perhaps. > > > > Even then, it would not be appropriate. Should I have been "harder", > "easier" on him? > > > > Comments welcome > > > > > > > > > > you were right when u said u wanted to see me again ahaha.. i was > wonderign when ur classes were for fall semester so i can see if i can > retake ur class.. get back to me when you can > > sincerly, > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
