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"breccia" ad infinitum, Jr.

martinh@isu.edu writes:

<< As one who teaches in a higher education environment >>
snip
<>  <>

Well, well.  I can't help but regard this post as the "smoking gun" for my
previous complaint (which was:  "Is it just me, or is THIS precisely the sort
of statement which makes a lot of us really disenchanted with academia &
"higher learning" these days?!")
Obviously, the CONTENT of a student's communication is of paramount
importance, more so than spelling/pronunciation, that's a no-brainer.  But the
idea that teachers (or should I say "self-esteem counselors") are frightened
of correcting spelling/pronunciation errors, that they are hesitant to TEACH
CORRECT ENGLISH because if they do, <> just makes me want to weep.
Consider this:   A recent international study revealed that American students
were somewhere in the lower third of countries-surveyed in regard to a
specific
math test.  They DID, however, finish FIRST in how they FELT about their own
math proficiency.   They were poorly skilled in math, but by God, they THOUGHT
they were math-experts, and after all, THAT'S what's important.  *sigh*
Martin, I am desperate to continue this dialogue with you, but I suspect we
might want to do so off the list, one-on-one (but open to all interested
parties, if any!), as this really is getting pretty far afield, and I can
practically hear the collective meteorite-yawns around the globe....
Gregory