*facepalm*

[textualdeviance]

I believe I have discovered how kids are failing to learn proper English.

Here's the sad beginning of an e-mail I just got from a kindergarten teacher:

Actually it has been a long time since anyone has come to my class that has not been to preschool. So kindergarten is usually is not there first experience.

The rest of the mail is just as bad, with improper use of parentheses and egregious abuse of ellipses.

Meh. I give up.


ETA: This reminds me that I meant to link this.

It's a damn shame the guy had to go all technophobic (and I sent him a rather pointed e-mail to that effect) because the rest of his point is solid, and worth paying attention to.

Comments

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

I personally think reform needs to be at the administrative level, in terms of stricter grading requirements. If students keep getting rewarded for poor performance with better grades than they deserve, then they have no motivation to do better.

I'm normally more carrot than stick, but for some students, learning itself isn't enough of a carrot. I think they have to be confronted with the possibility of being held back a grade to get them going. I realize that with overcrowding, this is a logistical nightmare, but the alternative--generations of uneducated kids entering the job market with no hope of doing well--is much worse.