Ciao!

I agree with you. I do not feel that it is my place to grade my students on grammar and language, but I usally comment if the language is not concise enough or there are frequent spelling mistakes. To write and spell properly seems to be less of an emphasis in the US than I am used to it from my schooling (where grammar, spelling and style are graded starting second grade). It's weird that I sometimes feel the need to include lectures about writing into my class. But then again - I teach intro to Politics.

Yes, I also wish the oh-so-liberal approach to teaching English in this country would be rolled back. Writing well is important, if only because one's promotions in the workplace often hinge on whether the upper echelons of highly educated society think one writes well. Teaching English writing as if the most important element were to boost a student's self-esteem ("just let them freely express themselves") over being able to write well is, in the long run, damaging. We don't take that approach w/ teaching math ("oh, just let them make up whatever algebra solutions they want if that's how they want to express themselves"). So why English?

And I don't buy the whole support for Ebonics or Spanglish. Because if you teach black kids Ebonics, you've locked them into a semi-permanent lower class. Are heads of Wall Street going to hire/promote people who write in Ebonics? No. That's the reality. The movement to teach Ebonics in the US bears striking resemblence to the movement to teach South African blacks Afrikaans, rather than English. It's a ghettoization of the language.

Anyhow, I take good, solid writing very seriously. Very, very seriously.

I feel you Melanie, b/c I know i have an accent and make mistakes when speaking English, so I feel quite uncomfortable when I need to address common, unacceptable mistakes in students' assignments. Where does one draw a line, but many of those writings are just appaling. And when you think about the drill we went through not only concerning our mother tongues, but also foreign languages, such as English? N.

I have to agree with you Miguel. In my English methods class I found out I am the only grammarian in the class out of the other bi-dialectilists among other new terms. So then I had to explain why I feel the way I do, without coming across as the hardline bitch. I do see grammar as important simply because it makes you sound more educated. Why do you think people make fun of Bush? Because when he speaks he often fumbles over his words. I'm sure if her were able to convey his message better, people would liken him to a Southern Beau, like they do Edwards. And having bad grammar can turn out to be a bad thing when you go out and find a job. It's amazing how many people who are English teaching MAJORS can't even get the correct form of "principal" correct when they write out assignments.

And I got a funny comment from a coworker. He asked me how old you were because I mentioned you were an old professor of mine. I told him about twenty-nine. To which my coworker responded, "Are you sure? In that picture [on LJ] he looks like he's about twelve." Sorry if that offends you, but I just thought it was a cute comment.

"...Strunk & White wrote the style guide I fell in love w/ my junior year of high school..."

>>Wow, did I have a completely different experience in high school ... The only thing I was in love w/was my whorish young self. Ay carumba, I wish I had had your disposition in high school, perhaps the study of law wouldn't seem so damned tedious. Alas, I was too preoccupied with carnal pursuits.

My appreciation for the lessons from Strunk & White came mostly post facto. I thought it was dumb when I was first introduced to the little white book by Mrs. Harrison in tenth grade. After a year of poetry-writing under my belt, I was ready for its lessons in eleventh grade (I had Mrs. Harrison for three hours a day, for three years at the Center for Arts & Sciences).

Because poetry's about meter, cadence, picking the right word, developing a style & flow, etc. It's not about just rhyming (one extreme) or just ranting about your mom/church/job/girlfriend (another extreme). If people approached writing essays the same way they approach writing good poetry (not the hackneyed crap you hear at poetry slams or weepy eyed gothteen coffee house poetry readings) people would write better. It's not just about presenting some idea; it's about presenting it in such a way that makes the presentation itself fresh, interesting, powerful, and beautiful.

Writing is mechanics. But mechanics are the tools we use to produce beauty.