I’ve been
noticing a lack of fundamental skills in the classroom, lately, which, if I
were teaching elementary school, wouldn’t be much of a problem. As I’m in a
college classroom, it’s a big problem.
I really
wonder what’s going on in the public education system when basic tenents of
vocabulary and language are not taught. The holes in my students’ knowledge are,
frankly, baffling.
And I can’t
blame the students. They’ve graduated the system without anyone informing them
of their lack. Many students come in knowing that there should be very few
grammar errors in their writing, but no one ever told them just how many errors
they truly had.
And, of
course, as I write this I minded that the same can hold true for writers with a
professional aim. How many of us actually know our strengths and weaknesses?
How many of us know our fundamentals? Do we truly know, or do we just assume we
know?