Concerns about children's education

[SourRoses]

Oh, thank you for starting this thread! Yey!
I fully admit to making intentional errors on forums and in emails, for the sole purpose of adding character to what would otherwise be overly bland. I just love my run-on sentences, periods (.......) out the gazoo, and occasionally starting a sentence with a 'But'.
However, I just cannot stand the nonsense teenagers are writing these days!
When I was in school, not too very long ago, the teachers barely attended to the diagram of sentences. We did do extensive work in punctuation and spelling, though, from third to fifth grade, and that was the end of it. The way I learned to write? By reading! The evidence I see from day to day, indicates to me that children aren't reading anymore! There are too many video games, too many cell phones, too much television. And whats on that television is horrendous!
All those nonsense reality shows, so illiterate people can pass on more moronic garbage. The parts that bother me the most?

"Oh my God". Quite common, I know. Are people aware though, of the origns? From Psalms, "Oh, my God" Is claiming the Lord as their personal God, for purposes of praise, worship, supplication, and lamentation. Do people really want to be saying, "The lord is mine, will you look at her butt"?

"Holy (doo doo)". Holy, means clean. People say this, and I hear, "Clean Poop!". Smart.

"I'm one hundred and twenty five percent sure" Oh my goodness! When speaking of percentiles in rating systems, it goes off of groups of ten. 1-10. 1-100. 1-1,000. If you say, one hundred and twenty five percent, you have changed the rating system to the mode of 1-1,000. So, if you were trying for the 1-100 category, you just said, "Im 12.5 percent sure"... If you were trying for the 1-10 category, you just said, "I'm 1.25 percent sure."

The idiocy in our culture is driving me batty!

A side note - Someone finally, finally, after years of my wondering.. explained to me what the sagging pants thing is about.
They turn their underwear inside-out. Then they wear their pants low, to make sure you can see the label of the underwear. Are they Gucci underwear? No, they're Fruit of the loom.

 

[AnaD]

I am helping my BF's mother grade World Civ for highschool students. They do not know how to spell, look up answers in books, answer questions completely, or follow directions. They copy each others pappers about 90% of the time and rarely read the Q they answer. Let me give you TRUE examples of what I am grading...These are not even the funny ones, just the ones I'm working on at the moment.
Examples:
Who were the Bolshevics?= The retards.
Who was Alexandria?= The bigger retards.
Who was Vladimir Lenin and what were his views on Marxism?= IDK it is a good poem
What three things did Lenin promise?= Cold/sickness.
I am homeschooling when my daughter starts. My own experience with mean bully teachers is enough to make me worried about subjecting my own daughter to the same thing. She is going to be SMART! I insist!

 

[ChicksterJo]

I could go on and on about how the schools are failing, but it's not just the schools that are to blame. Students, parents, teachers, school administrators and all the politics involved - they're all in this together. If I ever have children, I'd homeschool. It will probably take a bit more work on my part.

I also wanted to respond to the post about being a grammar, spelling, and punctuation "Nazi." I have a degree in English language and literature, but I also write informally on public forums and most of the time, I speak informally around family and friends. I had to write so many formal essays and papers that sometimes I just want to relax. I know how to write well, but I fit my language to the situation. I guess it's because I learned French for several years, too, and there's informal French and formal French - sheesh!!

There are some idioms that I'll never understand. Some are hyperbolic, like "I'm 125% sure." It doesn't seem logical, but it's just a way to express just how certain that person is. Those don't bother me as much as people who are hypocritical.

 

[SourRoses]

I am homeschooling when my daughter starts. My own experience with mean bully teachers is enough to make me worried about subjecting my own daughter to the same thing. She is going to be SMART! I insist!

Ditto! Though, I don't have any kids yet.
I was so pleasantly surprised when I noticed how many BYC'ers homeschool ther kids... I'm proud of all those moms out there!
When I was homeschooled (highschool years) I pretty much directed myself, like an Unschool set-up. I'm considering Unschool for mine. One of the few great things about our changing world is the increase in excellent rescources for home learning and early education. I keep contemplating to myself, how early I'll be able to teach my children to read with some of those advanced learning tools. Little fantasies in my head of a reading toddler, LOL!

Back to the Op.... Don't even get me started on spell-check. For people who have diabillities, I'm sure its very useful. But children should never be allowed to touch that program. If you're not trying to spell correctly on your own, how are you going to learn anything?​

 

[SourRoses]

Hehehe!

An English professor writes the sentence, "A woman without her man is nothing" on the chalk - board and tells his students to punctuate it. A male student writes, "A woman, without her man, is nothing." A female student writes, "A woman: without her, man is nothing."

 

[mom'sfolly]

I was in a very good education system, and I graduated 30 years ago.

I've never diagrammed a sentence. I learned punctuation in about fifth grade, and it was rarely spoken of again. I might of had some in high school English, but I really can't remember. I went to a college that required a basic writing course for everyone; you didn't pass, you didn't graduate. I still use the course book when I need to know something specific; Elements of Style is still my friend.

I find that on the forum, I skip any posting that doesn't have punctuation or paragraphing. It is just too difficult to read. It doesn't matter how important or significant the topic, it is just too annoying for me to read. As far as I'm concerned, lack of punctuation and paragraphing makes a post completely useless for any meaningful communication.

I have public school kids. In the lower grades the writing emphasis is on getting ideas on paper. By first grade they should begin using the "conventions of writing", capitalization, periods, exclamation points, question marks, etc. In about second or third grade, other things come in; like quotation marks and commas, and they begin talking about different styles of writing, voice, and composition. In fourth grade, they must pass a writing test to advance.

I also have to comment on the type of writing that is expected for the fourth grade TAKS. To me it smacks of the worst sort of purple prose. "Use you "wow" words, children", and "Show, don't describe" ends up with pages of flowery, over-exaggerated writing.

I hate these types of posts. I always want to run my posts through a grammar check, and I over think every word. ARGHHHHHHH

 

[PineappleMama]

Quote:
"From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs." It is not even a full sentence, but it sure tells it like it is.

Rufus

Well, if we're gonna throw out random quotes... how's about a math one? You can't multiply wealth by dividing it?

Things are really testy down here right now thanks to supreme budget issues. Really, you just now noticed the economy was going downhill so you went ahead in August and blew $12,000.00 on Convocation (great big Let's Go Team meeting before school starts for staff) and you wonder how you ended up with a budget problem? Not talking all of Texas on that one, just our district here. It boggles me how they are boggled by this budget stuff... I mean really, I got a public school high school diploma and I get it... these people have minimum bachelors, many with masters or docs ... *sigh* of course DH was studying for his Grad School Entrance Exam and was shocked at some of the words in the verbal section... words we knew in junior high... that they're now using to weed out the 'weak' students who aren't serious enough to go on to their master's degree. Not any wonder grade school is failing if that's the sort that are graduating from COLLEGE!

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
You might wish to check your date. The Constitution dates to September 17, 1787, not 1887.

I happen to believe that it's a lot more important that people know what the Constitution is and does rather than worry too much about the specific date it was signed. I'm more about understanding concepts, trends, changes, etc. than the answers to Trivia Pursuit Questions, which is what most dates are. This does not mean students shouldn't have a general understanding of when the Constitution was signed, or an understanding of the general chronology of events surrounding its signing. However, their understanding of this topic won't change if they don't know a specific date.

As for those lamenting the loss of punctuation, grammar, and spelling skills, I would agree with you. These are atrocious today. However, I am more lenient in my expectations on a discussion forum. People, myself included, often type in a much more conversational tone than we would normally use in writing. This does not mean I can't use proper grammar and punctuation. However, I often post quickly online.

(And, if anyone thinks I'm going into the symbols screen to hunt down some punctuation mark while typing on my Blackberry, dream on. If it's not on the main screen, it doesn't get used.)

 

[redhen]

Interesting...

 

[Truevalentine]

Quote:
I am sure it feels that way or you wouldn't say it, but as a former teacher turned daycare with the intention of going back to teaching I've gotta say. Teachers do NOT get into the business of teaching for the money. They get into it (mostly) for the love of children and learning. HOWEVER with the politicians constantly sticking their noses in things and deciding that the best way to make sure education is of equal quality for all it to TEST TEST TEST, many teachers are tired and frustrated.

I was terrible at putting on the dog and pony show that the administration wanted to see so that they could show their bosses they were doing what they were supposed to to get the test score gains. As a kindergarten teacher I found it SO disheartening that I was already expected to teach to the future tests and start training kids to be good test takers. Now I love watching my pre-schoolers discover things on their own and enjoy helping them expand their knowledge on the things that interest them!

I say I have intentions of going back to teaching in a few years, but at the moment I dread the thought! I have many associates still in the field and I hear how much things have continued in the short time I have been gone and I just don't relish the idea of being a part of that mess! No Child Left Behind causes more trouble and expectation to pass tests rather than learn things in depth than many people realize :-(.

Oh, and as for spelling, it is not always the young ones who can't spell. It drives me crazy when friends my age use text speak constantly, I have one friend who insists on using 'z' instead of 's' when pluralizing. Then there are others like my mom who TRY, but are just terrible spellers. My mom was not taught phonics in school and I have since realized has very little phonemic awareness (for example she can not hear the difference between pin and pen), but bless her heart she tries to make sure things are spelled right even if it means asking for help!