Kelley Walker wrote:
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> [clip]
>
> social sciences/humanities grads can work together. work together to
> create a database of common student errors and corrections: copy, cut,
> paste, printout for ea. students (save on all that writing).
(Administrative pressure varies re this, but assuming freedom]
If by errors you mean syntax, spelling, etc. there is a far far better way -- don't see them. In any case, it is important to notice that the vast majority of syntactical errors exist only in the student's written work, _not_ in her speech. A student who was potentially one of the better writers I ever had, and one with acute literary perceptions even as a freshman, never in three semesters submitted a paper containing even one complete sentence. _All_ his errors were slippages between brain and finger -- at the time I had a very quick memory, and I could judge his command of English syntax, etc. by memorizing sentences he spoke in conference. The evolution of the human brain apparently was such as to make speech mastery fairly universal -- but the ability to hold language in memory while transcribing it to paper or keyboard is apparently specialized, like perfect pitch or the ability to wiggle your ears.
A world that wants to make use of the full intellectual powers of its inhabitants will have to find ways other than writing for the sharing of advanced thought. It is entirely possible that the person, whoever he was, that we call Homer would not have been able to pass a freshman writing course.
give up some
> of your authority and use collaborative learning techniques: better
> pedagogy, lightens your load.
It's probably better pedagogy -- but I suspect would usually intensify rather than lighten the load.
Carrol
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