Thursday, May 04, 2006
42% of Adults in Canada Semi-literate
Whereas:
The Canada Council on Learning reports that 42% of adults in Canada are semi-literate. Par contre, 57% of adults have some post-secondary education. This statistics support the conclusion that many students at university have not mastered their first language (it is highly unlikely that the 42% and the 57% per cent are two entirely different populations: there is likely an important overlap).
Anecdotal information supports this problem: Many profs and teaching assistants complain of the low quality of written work that is submitted in university courses. However, the problem is so general that TAs are forced to keep the average mark at a certain level and pass work that is not of good quality.
The arts and the social sciences are especially susceptible to this trend, because the disciplines do not lend themselves to highly objective evaluations such as mathematical calculations.
Many supervisors (personal experience) in government bureaucracy find that the written work submitted by workers, on personnel evaluations for example, are not written in clear or readable English or French.
Resolved:
That the Minister of Edumacation develop a plan to ensure that students at every level of the edumacation system are taught and evaluated on standard language skills that, once mastered, will serve them for the rest of their lives.
That university professors take the habit of refusing, and forcing students to resubmit, papers with insufficient quality of expression.
That all spelling and grammatical errors in this blogpost be blamed on somebody else who obviously failed to edumacate me properly.
The Canada Council on Learning reports that 42% of adults in Canada are semi-literate. Par contre, 57% of adults have some post-secondary education. This statistics support the conclusion that many students at university have not mastered their first language (it is highly unlikely that the 42% and the 57% per cent are two entirely different populations: there is likely an important overlap).
Anecdotal information supports this problem: Many profs and teaching assistants complain of the low quality of written work that is submitted in university courses. However, the problem is so general that TAs are forced to keep the average mark at a certain level and pass work that is not of good quality.
The arts and the social sciences are especially susceptible to this trend, because the disciplines do not lend themselves to highly objective evaluations such as mathematical calculations.
Many supervisors (personal experience) in government bureaucracy find that the written work submitted by workers, on personnel evaluations for example, are not written in clear or readable English or French.
Resolved:
That the Minister of Edumacation develop a plan to ensure that students at every level of the edumacation system are taught and evaluated on standard language skills that, once mastered, will serve them for the rest of their lives.
That university professors take the habit of refusing, and forcing students to resubmit, papers with insufficient quality of expression.
That all spelling and grammatical errors in this blogpost be blamed on somebody else who obviously failed to edumacate me properly.
Comments:
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Although I agree wholeheartedly with the resolution, I would propose a modest amendment, wherein people who believe that e-mails are somehow not bound by the same laws of grammar which oversee the use of the written word, and therefore force upon the unsuspecting recipient such horrors as the all-caps "I AM SHOUTING AT YOU" message, or its equally evil twin, the "no capitals no punctuation one long run-on sentence" message, and any number of other abominations, may be summarily tracked down and beaten with the grammatical guide of the recipient of said abomination's choice. I myself prefer the most recent hardcover edition of Garner's Modern American Usage; others may have their own grammar-avenging weapon of choice.
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