I teach developmental English in a community college. My students failed the test to place them in what is commonly called English 101.
I gave them a quiz on verbs. They had to change all the verbs in a story to the past tense. Most did fairly well on this easy test. However, I then asked them to circle the subjects of the sentences. There were 60 in all. The highest scoring student got 30 right.
I fear that these kids will not be able to vote intelligently. Where else do teabaggers come from but from the ranks of students like these?
I did very poorly in high school English. You can probably tell by my sentence structure and stuff in my postings.
Has absolutely not a fucking thing to do with my reasoning and thought processes.
Teachers taught me the mechanics of what I learned in school but very little of how to use them or put them together in real life.
You can sit all day, day after day, in a drivers ed class. But until you get behind the wheel it is meaningless...and most of what was taught in the classroom you could toss out the window. Well, maybe not most of it.
I see both sides of the fence but still have to think that if 18 out of 20 students in any given class are passing, I have to question the 2 students who aren't. If 18 out of 20 students are not passing, I have to question the teacher.
That's another solution.....dumb down the tests! Ask them to draw a square, write their name inside it, draw a circle, write anything inside, ask em what 2 + 2 is, if the world is flat or round then turn it in placing it face down on the top left corner of the teachers desk. If they can do all that they've demonstrated their knowledge of geometry, English, maths, geography and science as well as their spatial abilities. (Just to fool em place a blank sheet on the top right corner of the desk)
Charles -- The point I am trying to make is that nouns are our basic words. Babies generally learn nouns before they learn grammar although there are exceptions. There is also one linguistic theory that commands are the oldest types of sentences, which places verbs before nouns. However, that these kids can not identify the subject of a sentence is tragic.
Most of my students are Caucasian. Most seem to be working class. However, in the early days of the union movement, unions sponsored study groups. Organizations like the Saturday Evening Girls taught young women who were employed in factories basic skills and a larger proportion of those girls went on to college than did women from social tiers.
The teabaggers et al seem hopelessly dumb. I can not imagine many of them are proficient readers.
LLL -- Where do you live? I never heard of such a thing. Canada formerly had grade 13, a year spent entirely learning to write but abandoned it.
People my age who went to community colleges were largely those who were not accepted by four-year schools. In fact, a student transferring from a two-year to a four-year school would often have to repeat courses in their majors because a community college course was not considered on par with a university course.
Charles -- As NCLB was passed in 2000, it is possible that these kids were taught to take tests. Massachusetts worked to make the tests more comprehensive but pulled excellent teachers out of the classroom for two years to compose the tests.
Boxerchick -- I briefly considered giving you a courtesy you do not deserve by sending a private message. Instead, I will tell you straight out: when you know nothing, do not assume, do not make a statement, instead frame a question.
I said in my introduction that these students are in developmental English . . . which ought to have clued you in . . . because they could not be placed in college level English. Their situation is the result of many years . . . perhaps of parental ignorance (I know from their writings that many of these kids are from loving homes). . . perhaps from class strictures. . . perhaps from bad teaching methods. . . the fault is not mine. In fact, several of the students have improved.
You leapt at me and suggested that I was burned out.
And no one needs to read an insult, particularly when the clues were their for them to figure out.
