You have to have at least some knowledge of the subject matter in order to teach it. A few years ago, our local paper published a letter to the editor written by the president of the local teacher’s union. The editor noted above the publication, “printed as received”. (The only time in 15 years I have EVER seen him do that!) Poorly written would not begin to describe it. The letter was filled with spelling and grammar errors but was proudly signed with her name and titles. I expected outrage, but there was none, just a few questioning letters to the editor in response. She is still teaching and I assume no more knowledgeable of the subject matter now than she was then.
I have about two years of college - not enough for an actual degree of any sort. I am a safety professional in the construction industry.
I had a college-educated (Oklahoma State) safety coordinator that worked for me a few years back. She had a Bachelors in Occupational Safety. She could not spell, nor write coherent sentences nor punctuate! She even admitted it as much and simply did not see an issue with the fact that she had a college degree, but no writing skills. I explained that in our line of work, where hand written notes concerning accidents and incidents could be a make or break scenario, she simply didn’t understand.
I TRULY could not understand how someone graduated from a major university without basic writing skills!
I agree that there are many poorly educated “educators” out there and that too is a part of the problem. But, in a lawsuit such as this, they are trying to put ALL the blame on the teachers and I simply do not think that will hold water.
It is a bogus argument, working along the lines of the Obama-Bush’s-Fault narrative.
No more spelling tests at UNC journalism school.
http://www.dailytarheel.com/index.php/article/2012/04/technology_renders_spelling_test_obsolete
“What we’re trying to do is just make the exam more relevant for today’s journalism and mass communication students.”
A spelling checker won’t help you with bear/bare, not/knot, but/butt and all those homophones. Spelling and grammar skills go hand in hand.