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My writing was appalling out of high school, but it is passable today. That was only achieved after writing chapter after paper after chapter in my Ph.D. work.

My writing was appalling out of high school, but it is passable today. That was only achieved after writing chapter after paper after chapter in my Ph.D. work. Writing takes practice, and is hard work and time consuming. I worked with my high school son on a report recently. His writing and organization was also appalling, yet this is a very bright kid; I've administered a number of cognitive and IQ batteries on him. Only after showing him how to arrange his arguments cohesively and logically, did he start to see the flaws in his writing. It takes practice and instruction, and I don't think that the school system makes it a priority. I could excuse my high school, coming from an impoverished district, but I see it also in the children of my son's school in an affluent school district.

quasse 9y ago
It depends strongly on the school. I received almost a whole year of instruction on analyzing other people's arguments, spotting the use of logical fallacies, and constructing your own coherent arguments. We spent a lot of time reading both "news" and opinion articles from current events and analyzing how the author was trying to influence you / the quality of their arguments. I still count it as one of the most influential classes I have ever taken, and it was 11th grade English at a public school.
StanislavPetrov 9y ago
I recently went back to school (a nearby state university) after a 15 year absence from academia to get another degree. In one course, a number of my fellow students were pursing their ME. None of them were there out of a zeal for knowledge. Rather, New York State requires teachers to obtain a master's degree in teaching (or a related discipline) within five years of the completion of their initial degree. Without exception, the literacy and critical thinking skills of these students (several of which were already teachers), was absolutely atrocious. I was astounded at the total inability of these teachers (and teaching candidates) to read and write coherently. Granted, this was a state school and not a respected Ivy League university, but the lack of even basic literacy among these graduate students was shocking. Most struggled mightily to get through the class. Several dropped out to take courses with less demanding professors. To my knowledge, they all got their degrees, and are today teaching in our schools. How can we expect our children to become literate if those who teach them are not? The most important facet of education is teaching a child how to think. It is far more important to teach a child how to absorb the thoughts of others (reading) and express their own thoughts coherently (writing) than saturate them with information that they cannot retain or process properly. We are depriving our children of the tools they need to be thoughtful, and our society is suffering as a result.
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quasse 9y ago

It depends strongly on the school. I received almost a whole year of instruction on analyzing other people's arguments, spotting the use of logical fallacies, and constructing your own coherent arguments. We spent a lot of time reading both "news" and opinion articles from current events and analyzing how the author was trying to influence you / the quality of their arguments. I still count it as one of the most influential classes I have ever taken, and it was 11th grade English at a public school.

StanislavPetrov 9y ago

I recently went back to school (a nearby state university) after a 15 year absence from academia to get another degree. In one course, a number of my fellow students were pursing their ME. None of them were there out of a zeal for knowledge. Rather, New York State requires teachers to obtain a master's degree in teaching (or a related discipline) within five years of the completion of their initial degree. Without exception, the literacy and critical thinking skills of these students (several of which were already teachers), was absolutely atrocious. I was astounded at the total inability of these teachers (and teaching candidates) to read and write coherently. Granted, this was a state school and not a respected Ivy League university, but the lack of even basic literacy among these graduate students was shocking. Most struggled mightily to get through the class. Several dropped out to take courses with less demanding professors. To my knowledge, they all got their degrees, and are today teaching in our schools. How can we expect our children to become literate if those who teach them are not? The most important facet of education is teaching a child how to think. It is far more important to teach a child how to absorb the thoughts of others (reading) and express their own thoughts coherently (writing) than saturate them with information that they cannot retain or process properly. We are depriving our children of the tools they need to be thoughtful, and our society is suffering as a result.

deleted 9y ago
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