• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

English Should not be Compulsory in High School

Modified said:
At my high school, at least, they didn't spend any time teaching you how to write essays. They just told you to write one, and graded you on the results.
Click to expand...

Odds are, you were taught, just before high school. Most schools teach a very basic style of "tell them what you are going to tell them, make your case in the next 3 to 5 paragraphs, tell them what you told them"

If you went your entire educational career without ever having to provide an outline, or a rough draft, I would be impressed.


I would also suppose that you were never taught addition in high school either. Same reason.
 
lionking said:
Given the amysmal grasp of the English language of so man Australians, I have absolutely no problem with compulsory English to year 12.
Click to expand...
From what I can tell, this is true of pretty much all native English speakers through out the Anglosphere. It seems the only people that actually have a grasp of English are the better educated South Asians.
 
Roboramma said:
My understanding is that the data shows the opposite is true: there is a positive correlation between children's scores in science subjects and their scores in arts subjects. So those who do well in science do better (on average) in arts than those who do poorly in science, and vice versa.
Click to expand...

Certainly at my school the "brainy kids" as a whole excelled across the board (apart from PE) I'd say the person with the highest intelligence (ended up doing maths at Cambridge) was by far the best artist in the entire school, one of the few people I have ever been jealous of - her pencil and pen and ink work was beyond exquisite . And all of us doing 3 sciences (long reason why that was unusual at my school) were all top in the creative studies we were taking.
 
Leftus said:
Odds are, you were taught, just before high school.
Click to expand...

Definitely not. My understanding of the word "essay" before high school was that it was the 500 words you had to write about why you shouldn't chew gum in school while you sat in detention after you were caught chewing gum in school.

If you went your entire educational career without ever having to provide an outline, or a rough draft, I would be impressed.
Click to expand...
Sure, some classes required an outline prior to the completed work. That was of some help, but it's not like you went back-and-forth with the teacher discussing how it could be improved.
 
From your link -
angrysoba said:
"Nobody Don't Like Me."
Click to expand...

Per Harry Belafonte in "Mama Look a Bubu":

"I wonder why nobody don't like me
Or is it the fact that I'm ugly?"
Click to expand...
It's incorrect in some versions of English, and correct in various dialects. What matters is not being correct but being consistent, for the sake of the reader.

When adults don't understand each other, their children will play and make up their own dialect. Such "pidgin" or creole languages fascinate me.

The following four-minute Hugh Laurie clip is satire, but this is how it feels to be a high school English teacher sometimes:

ABOFAL lecture on Romeo & Juliet
 
Last edited:
Thermal said:
The second (missing) one would be, wouldn't it?
Click to expand...
No, In the sentence "English, in primary school, high school, and college, should be mandatory." the fourth comma would be an Oxford. Although this particular sentence would be better if the clause was set off using en dashes, here substituted with hyphens because of course they are: "English - in primary school, high school, and college - should be mandatory. In fact, the whole sentence should be rearranged: "English should be mandatory in primary school, high school, and college." In that sentence, the last comma is an Oxford comma as it precedes "and". The same sentence without the Oxford comma would be "English should be mandatory in primary school, high school and college."
 
Last edited:
Leftus said:
Odds are, you were taught, just before high school. Most schools teach a very basic style of "tell them what you are going to tell them, make your case in the next 3 to 5 paragraphs, tell them what you told them"

If you went your entire educational career without ever having to provide an outline, or a rough draft, I would be impressed.


I would also suppose that you were never taught addition in high school either. Same reason.
Click to expand...


Looks like some paid more attention in school than others.

State your thesis, support your thesis with at least three paragraphs, and then restate your thesis.

Nobody had to write a term paper and hand in their outline, their three by five cards, and their bibliography? Before they finished their paper?

Maybe some had better teachers than others.
 
bobdroege7 said:
Looks like some paid more attention in school than others.

State your thesis, support your thesis with at least three paragraphs, and then restate your thesis.

Nobody had to write a term paper and hand in their outline, their three by five cards, and their bibliography? Before they finished their paper?

Maybe some had better teachers than others.
Click to expand...
It wasn't the teachers, it was the curriculum. The teachers were fine. They did exactly what they were required to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom