Klarinet Archive - Posting 001074.txt from 2000/02

From: "Michael Lawrence" <belgarath10@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Very much on-topic language skills
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 18:16:30 -0500

>
>
>"You should hear the way students in high school speak these days."
>
>leo
>
> May I ask what high school you attend?

I have taught English in high schools since 1978. I also have a degree
in clarinet performance. I love words and literature and I love music
and I value and strive for excellence in all these areas, for myself and
for my students.
A few years ago, in the way that the education pendulum swings, the
theory was to let students spell, write, and speak in any way they chose,
as long as they were "communicating." We dropped grammar courses and
allowed "creative spelling." Now, we are reaping what we have sown.
Every day, starting in September, I have offered extra credit to my
classes if everyone in that class can just speak standard English for one
period--55 minutes. So far, one class has received the credit one time.
Two of my classes are Honors classes, and they seem incapable (and
unconcerned) about speaking correctly. It's disheartening.

Something seems to be missing from this sentence:

The way you were writing, I infered that you
>thought
>all students, due to their laziness (I know this was only one
>sentence, but
>this is the one that affects me most, and is a generalization I tend
>to
>dislike) and general slovenliness [did not care about the way they act and
are perceived by others] (or something like that:)), and that is simply not
true.

Jill Exner

Sorry about that, yesterday was just not my day:) I had been typing posts
(as you can tell) and I guess at that point I had gotten too tired to think
coherently. My apologies. I also apologize for you having to put up with
students like that; all students in honors classes should strive for
excellence, not settle for what gets the passing grade. I suppose my area
is not as bad as I had thought, but education is still suffering from such
"accepting" ways of thinking that led to your school board allowing
"creative spelling", etc.. Oh well, I'm sure enterprising minds will fix
whatever problems will arise. I guess I'll just apologize to everyone as a
whole, I was rather adament yesterday in my speech, and I didn't intend to
be. So, I apologize!:)

-Michael L.

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