On 21 November 2010 Michael Sylvester wrote: >I was educated under the British system in my early youth >and writing full sentences and elaborating on ideas were >compulsory. One was judged by the depth nature of one's thinking.
Michael: I fear those more rigorous days have long gone as far as English secondary schools are concerned. (Though I hope the requirement for full sentences remains, even if concern for accurate grammar has lapsed considerably.) >Students were also ranked in the subjects they took and >the GCE exams were sent to England to be graded. Ironically, the English exam boards still publish old-style GCE examination papers, but these are taken by school students in British Commonwealth countries, not in England! Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London [email protected] http://www.esterson.org ------------------------------------ From: michael sylvester <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Canada's early intolerance Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:52:01 -0200 I was educated under the British system in my early youth and writing full sentences and elaborating on ideas were compulsory.One was judged by the depth nature of one's thinking.Students were also ranked in the subjects they took and the GCE exams were sent to England to be graded.It is interesting to note that V S Naipaul(born in Guyana)the writer, has been ranked as one of the best writers of the English language and Derek Walcott ( my neighbor in St.Lucia) got a Nobel prize for literature. When I came to the U.S I was surprized by all those multiple choice questions and the "sound bites" paradigm. And as a reminder "when everyone is thinking alike,nobody is thinking". Michael "omnicentric" Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=6668 or send a blank email to leave-6668-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
