7th November 2005, 01:35 PM
Quote:quote:I would still expect people to be able to spell, know proper use of grammar and be able to write an essay.
Well, yes, you would hope so, but in these days of WPs and speel/gramer checkers it seems a lot less important to be perfect in these areas. Likewise, the number of youngsters these days that don't know how to do long division (or have even heard of a log table) is surprisingly high. As an example of what goes on in some schools: my S.O. is a teacher and was told not to correct spelling mistakes in the children's work because it would undermine their confidence
But, my intension was not to say that spelling, punctuation and so on are not taught still, but that the emphersis is now elsewhere - given the choice between something with perfect spelling and grammar but very run of the mill argument, or something with enlightened and fresh argument and slightly imperfect (but still understandable) spelling, etc, then the latter is the one most likely to advance the subject.