Klarinet Archive - Posting 000896.txt from 1998/07

From: reedman@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Dan Leeson and English lessons
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 22:03:05 -0400

As a person who enjoys reading and writing I must agree with Dan
Leeson on the matter of carefully written postings to the Clarinet List.

Dan is one of the most articulate persons I have ever met. One may
not always agree with his position, but his ability to present his
arguments logically and succinctly is a model to which we can all aspire. I
have developed a strong aversion to the current thinking in California
public schools toward "creative spelling" and the lack of disciplined
grammatic structure.

I believe that the manner in which we express ourselves is a direct
reflection of the way we think. When I see a post that is full of spelling
errors, incorrect grammar and syntactical mistakes I sometimes question the
quality of thinking that went into that posting. I won't argue that deep
thought is possible among inarticulate people, but how unfortunate that
their writing/verbal skills are not sufficiently developed to communicate
their thoughts correctly. If we all try to raise the quality of our
postings in even the smallest way (correct spelling) the level of the
entire list is raised. Anyone who has done even a modicum of writing,
technical or creative, understands that the PROCESS of refining ones
writing skills improves his ability to THINK. Isn't this what this forum is
about? It is a place to express knowledge or observations and to come away
with new information and new ways to THINK about the clarinet.

If we value this forum as a place where clear, creative thinking is
welcome then we owe it to ourselves to present our ideas articulately and
thoughtfully.

Clark W Fobes

Clark W Fobes
Web Page http://www.sneezy.org/clark_fobes

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