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RE: The debate that won't die (was RE: Remember secretaries? (was RE: Proof that content is more important than style))
Subject:RE: The debate that won't die (was RE: Remember secretaries? (was RE: Proof that content is more important than style)) From:"Dick Margulis " <margulis -at- mail -dot- fiam -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 4 Dec 2002 15:14:04 -0500
kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com wrote:
>
>I contend that when dealing with the "average person" - the person who can
>be taught to read, write, do math, and get through high school (which mean
>this person DOES have the "ability to learn") - such a person can NOT
>always be taught to write *well.* Some can, some just can't. I've seen it
>time and again.
>
Keith,
You, Anita, and everyone else are ignoring the elephant in the room. Yes, there are differences between individuals in terms of their talents and their abilities to learn different types of material. But there are also huge differences in the abilities of teachers.
I think most people can learn to write as well as the majority of tech writers I've encountered (not a very high standard). I'm not at all certain that there are enough competent English teachers to get them all to that level, though.
In English Composition, I squeaked by on my charm and good looks from kindergarten through 10th grade--and I didn't have either charm or good looks then any more than I do now. I hadn't a clue how to write an effective paragraph, let alone anything longer. Writing assignments were my idea of torture. And this was in a well-to-do suburban school district that prides itself on the quality of the education it provides.
I was fortunate to have an English teacher in 11th grade (I requested and got him again in 12th grade) who understood how to teach composition so that most students could finally break the code and achieve a reasonable level of proficiency. Had I drawn a different straw in 11th grade, I would probably still be struggling.
Yes, some of us caught on faster than others and got the better grades. But to dismiss people who reached adulthood without learning to write as being somehow less capable of learning is no fairer than concluding that people who claim to hate math simply because they never had a decent math teacher are too dumb to balance a checkbook.
The fact that some people have so much native ability that they learn to write with mediocre or ineffective instruction does not really alter my conclusion. I'm not saying that the current and former teachers on the list are incompetent. I'm just saying some teachers may have a better success rate than others.
Dick
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