Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion NYT piece on test standards for writing

Of course it doesn't. But if you make an assignment, you have a duty to grade it in a meaningful way.


I disagree with (a). Students can only learn so much about anything without having guidance from someone whose job is to teach them (this is the whole point of having teachers). Most people need help with writing; beginners, including most university students, need a lot of help. Even professional writers use writing groups to get advice and help from others.

(b) Just because it's important to correct content doesn't mean you can skip over significant problems related to structuring a paragraph or grammar. Outside of English class, suggestions don't have to be extensive, but they should be there. English teachers and professors should tear papers apart.


No, I criticize a professor who makes an assignment and then doesn't correct it.

What you're saying now is so far from what the article was saying and what you were saying before that I'm not going to spend any more time answering you. It's totally off-topic anyway.

Sent you a PM.

[deleted: was reply to deleted post]

Then I'll just write it here. It's not a big deal.

ColinsMum,

Are you having a rough day? If so, and if I made it rougher, I apologize. You usually write thoughtful messages and that one I responded to seemed very different from your typical ones. I was surprised.

In any event, people may indeed write better in the UK than they do in the US, but that quote Bostonian posted was typical (or maybe even actually a bit better) than a lot of the stuff I've read over here in the US. Teaching writing really seems to have gone out of style in this country, and I'm very concerned about what the consequences will be. Even gifted kids need a lot of help with writing, but our schools and colleges seem increasingly reticent to offer it.

Val

...and they need it well before they get to college, IMO.

Agreed. If your writing skills aren't strong enough by that point, the place to hone them is a remedial / developmental writing course. Most college programs have writing tutors who can work with students one-on-one (for free!), too.

Likewise for students who get to college without sufficient math background.

Even if your college doesn't have a program, assuming you have internet access, and can read or have access to screen reading software, the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), which has great writing instruction, is free for all.

The problem is, though, that students are being graduated and then admitted into colleges without being able to write. Unless the student is enrolled in a remedial program of some sort, it should not be the responsibility of the COLLEGE professor to teach basic writing skills. I agree that college English/creative writing professors should help hone and enhance those skills of their students, but they shouldn't have to teach them how to write an introductory sentence for a paragraph or even what a paragraph is (something a professor I know recently related).

The college is admitting them without them being able to write. They know this is a problem. So, they either need to accept that the college professors are now de facto high school teachers or they need to not accept the students in the first place.