Don Bender, letter in Mensa Bulletin: It is not statistically (or logically!) valid to examine facts,
create a hypothesis that fits those facts,
and then cite those same facts as proof that the hypothesis must be true.
(And yet, that’s what we do in court.)
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create a hypothesis that fits those facts,
and then cite those same facts as proof that the hypothesis must be true.
(And yet, that’s what we do in court.)
------------------------------------------------------------------
"In 2002, following the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Arizona started to monitor state teachers to ensure that they used proper grammar and did not mispronounce words." (Story at http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/09/12/arizona-grammar-police-stand-down-under-threat-of-litigation/)
But the federal government told them they couldn't do that, since it discriminates against those with accents.
Duh?
I think it should be easy enough to discriminate between an accent, and sloppy grammar and mispronunciation due to ignorance. Sheesh. Remember the PC arguments about Ebonics? Accepting Ebonics as "proper" led to a graduating class who couldn't get a job.
I really don't think it's too much to ask that teachers speak and write properly. In fact, I insist on it. They should set the example.
A few years ago I was reading the blog of a person who seemed to have no idea whatsoever what punctuation was for, who confused homonyms, and used capitalization randomly. Sentences were poorly constructed, and often confusing. I kept reading, though, because the blogger's ideas were good, once I waded through the slop.
I was shocked to discover that this blogger was not only a teacher in a public school, but was an English teacher!
I cringed. That person had no business in an English class, except maybe as a student. I can't imagine what that teacher's students could possibly learn from their teacher.
What do you think? Should teachers be required to be articulate?
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4 comments:
Hell to the yes.
Oh, without a doubt.
Of course teachers should be clear and articulate. Even, dare I say, intelligent!
I have a friend who is an art teacher, who has horrible written grammar, spelling and punctuation. He's very well spoken. He claims he has dyslexia and that's why he cannot spell, punctuate or put sentences together correctly. At least he's not teaching English.
(Giggle) I know who you mean. I did wonder about that, but yes, he does come across as intelligent.
My beloved Jay couldn't spell or compose worth a tinker's damn either. Luckily I met him in person. If I'd seen an online profile for him, he wouldn't have had a chance.
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