Posted on 07/02/2010 11:48:13 AM PDT by NYer
This is because all the teachers are female, and they are all looking to put a 14 year old nothch in thier belt.
Overblown observation, but between Unionisation and the sexin school its no wonder we are in such bad shape.
LOL. Good for you. I do like texting, but I LOVE the fact that you are insistent about the WAY you and your daughters communicate. Wonder what tortures they’ll inflict on their daughters some day thanks to the way they were raised!
Although I don’t subscribe to all of linguistic philosophy, there is definately something to what the professor says. I’ve noticed that most of the classic works, especially those translated from Latin, displaly a use of language, writing and argument, far superior to that of today.
The ultimate admission of Grassl’s contention that the ability to think has been lost is the ubiquitous use of “ya know”. It is a placeholder in conversational flow which serves as a stand-in for “I’m not able to form a coherent thought at this point so please just empathize with my riff.”
If you can stand the cursing, watch “Idiocracy”.
“I’ve noticed that most of the classic works, especially those translated from Latin, display a use of language, writing and argument, far superior to that of today.”
####
You don’t even have to go back that far.
Much more recent examples of richness in expression and a thorough development of ideas, off the top of my head, would be Dickens’ magnificent David Copperfield-written as a mere popular novel for a very general audience, and the simple exchange of letters betwen John and Abigail Addams.
We had "social studies" in my high school, that was in southern Missouri, at the time a very conservative area, 1959-1963. We also had the other subjects that you named.
"Like" was chosen long ago as the spear-tip of the eduactional death stroke against American students. It's been a zipper handle that has been used to progressively undo rational thought itself.
The author ends by comparing the results to an ant hill - which makes me reflect that ant hills are blind totalitarian organizations, with working eunuchs, run by a queen.
No, you don’t have to go back that far but it’s interesting that all you mention would have been well schooled in the classics and in Latin. We gave up an important linguistic and intellectual asset when we abandoned the classics.
Use this as a PS to my post #20:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaqaImebd1M&feature=player_embedded#!
No additional expense incurred just because of the length of the text. Unlimited Verizon family plan charge is the same each and every month regardless of the length or number of texts. Being realistic is spelling the word “you” as “you”; not “u”.
It is because young people no longer read. They don’t see their parents read. I suggest books for my children and discuss the books with them. Those I haven’t read, I ask them questions about (bad grammar, ending a sentence with a preposition - grin). We talk about favorite parts and lessons learned. Parents need to show their children the importance and enjoyment of reading by doing it in front of them . By reading good books, children get an innate sense of grammar, which helps as they formally learn it.
Bravo
Don't forget .. they're.
Can’t we do anything right anymore!!!???
That would be "skillz."
I first became aware of this usage in the 1950s. And I suspect it was not new even then.
“speechless consumers of canned content”..
Precisely the cause. Thanks for posting this brilliant article.
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