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If someone has graduated high school and supposedly been going to college for the past 10 years, but they write "four fathers" with the intended meaning being "forefathers" - is it fair to say they've been ripped off(by the college) or that they're just plain stupid?
Maybe they just are not good and/or interested in grammar.
You can have a high IQ and not be good at grammar or spelling. I think it is sort of hypocritical that we have all these threads bashing people who make spelling or grammar mistakes but bend over backwards reassuring people who aren't so hot at math that they aren't stupid. Which btw correlates with high iq better than spelling!
Maybe they just are not good and/or interested in grammar.
You can have a high IQ and not be good at grammar or spelling. I think it is sort of hypocritical that we have all these threads bashing people who make spelling or grammar mistakes but bend over backwards reassuring people who aren't so hot at math that they aren't stupid. Which btw correlates with high iq better than spelling!
I don't think this is the case at all. I think there is just a general decline in the proper use of the language. Typical examples you hear every day.
Wheres he at? This one just bugs me so bad. What is wrong with, Where is he?
I was just watching the TV a few minutes ago and a police officer said, We already DRUG the canal and we didn't find NOBODY there. LOL. That is almost illerate in the verbal sence.
It seems that millions of people do not know even the basic forms of English verbs.
I don't think this is the case at all. I think there is just a general decline in the proper use of the language. Typical examples you hear every day.
Wheres he at? This one just bugs me so bad. What is wrong with, Where is he?
I was just watching the TV a few minutes ago and a police officer said, We already DRUG the canal and we didn't find NOBODY there. LOL. That is almost illerate in the verbal sence.
It seems that millions of people do not know even the basic forms of English verbs.
And it isn't as if generation upon generation have not had the same issues.
If someone has graduated high school and supposedly been going to college for the past 10 years, but they write "four fathers" with the intended meaning being "forefathers" - is it fair to say they've been ripped off(by the college) or that they're just plain stupid?
I attribute these kinds of errors and poor grammar to the fact that people today overall, but mostly young people under 30, for the most part, do not read very much--and the reading material most choose is typically internet blog sites and e-zines and message boards where users basically make up the rules to spelling and grammar. Then there's the whole facebook and twitter phenomenon, along with texting.
People learn to write by reading. Sadly, reading books, magazine articles, etc. is something that's falling by the wayside. Schools may still require students to read books, but I'd suspect that teachers don't really adhere to high standards. Maybe a hearty number of them allow students to get by with what information they've obtained from sparknotes or wikipedia sites.
That's a marker of a crummy school system--one that continues to assign the so-called classics in high school English classes--books like Moby Dick, The Scarlett Letter, anything by the Bronte sisters, or Edith Wharton, along with Faulkner. All of these authors' books are so well-known and synopses are rife on the internet that students don't have to read them to get through their classes. I think school systems should update their reading lists instead of assigning this boring crap to their students. Even for the ones who actually try to read any of these novels, the language is so dense for them that they're probably dizzy after slogging through the first two pages. More up to date literature might actually encourage students to read more--I'd start with anything by Kerouac (yet they won't get solid grammar lessons from him), or maybe Chuck Palaniuk and that Klostermann guy who's all the rage these days. Their books are funny and entertaining, while at the same time providing a philosophical punch that could rival Hawthorne (who the heck can understand Hawthorne anyway?).
In my experience, college students are very poor spellers (and a number of them are poor writers) and use spell check for everything. If spell check doesn't catch it, it must be okay.
DiogenesofJackson--I agree with you in that I think very few young people spend much time reading for enjoyment.
The sad thing is, this particular person I made the OP about, has a very accomplished doctor for a father and a mother with a Masters in Education. They have been sending their "professional student" to college for the past ten years because he can't get and hold a job (no surprise there), and he still has not completed his associates degree. He has a high enough IQ to convince them that he can only handle 1-2 classes per semester, even though he doesn't work, and they keep footing the bill.
With all the complaint of high unemployment, you would think those under 30 would be that much more vigilant about making sure they speak and write in an intelligent manner, and that the colleges charging these kids 50-100K for an education would make sure they can leave knowing how to spell. When I was a hiring manager and received a fax with "RESIME" written in Sharpee across the top for a financial services position, it went immediately into the trash.
remember that anyone can go to college these days. it isnt like it was 50 years ago when only the academically inclined went.
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