RE: Help - my consultants cannot write!

["Porrello, Leonard" <lporrello -at- illumina -dot- com>]

And now it is a discussion about a discussion about a discussion about education.

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+lporrello=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lporrello=illumina -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Kat Kuvinka
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 12:14 PM
To: ruthsessions03051 -at- yahoo -dot- com; mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com; mike -dot- west -at- bigpond -dot- com
Subject: RE: Help - my consultants cannot write!

No, I'm pretty sure it was a discussion about education in general and how maybe teachers are to busy being PC to teach children to write clearly.

Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:56:49 -0700
From: ruthsessions03051 -at- yahoo -dot- com
Subject: Re: Help - my consultants cannot write!
To: mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net; katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com
CC: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com; mike -dot- west -at- bigpond -dot- com

This is not bashing. It is discussing a serious issue about educating people who want to enter our field.
Indeed, some people think that "anyone can write," but if you are hiring writers, you soon learn that is not the case...
I believe that tech writing programs tend to assume the person applying can write and spend most of their time teaching technical information.
Sadly, most people I've interviewed who had technical writing certificates from such programs could not answer even the simplest technical questions. 
The programs can benefit people who make the effort, but apparently people who don't make the effort and get little out of the program
 still manage to pass the courses and get the certificate. That fact diminishes the meaning of the certificate... ------------------------------------------------------------Ruth Sessions603/886-7355603/809-3054
From:
 "mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net" <mattgras -at- comcast -dot- net>
To: Kat Kuvinka <katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com>
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com; mike west <mike -dot- west -at- bigpond -dot- com>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 10:51 AM
Subject: Re: Help - my consultants cannot write!

Doesn't sound like teacher-bashing to me. 

I've been dismayed, more than once, by candidates for tech writing positions who can't write -- and who come proudly bearing enthusiastic recommendations from teachers in prestigious tech-writing programs. 

Don't know what those teachers were teaching: but it wasn't how to write. 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kat Kuvinka" <katkuvinka -at- hotmail -dot- com> 
To: "mike west" <mike -dot- west -at- bigpond -dot- com>, "eddy skau" <eddy -dot- skau -at- gmail -dot- com> 
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011
 7:21:42 AM 
Subject: RE: Help - my consultants cannot write! 

This should not be a forum for your political views and teacher-bashing. 

Kathee 
   
> 
> As for what you call the "wiring" of the brain, I know nothing about that, 
> but I do know that the overarching purpose of formal education is to teach 
> people how to think clearly and express themselves clearly. At least it used 
> to be - God knows what they think they're doing nowadays.  My personal view 
> that is that many teachers  are not all that capable of thinking clearly; 
> they are too loaded up with dubious ideological baggage and political 
> correctness. (Disclaimer: I'm married to a teacher who is a notable 
> exception to this generality.) 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Mike West 
>> 
>>
 
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