Should educators be able to write coherently?

[Don]

Does DPS leader's writing send wrong message (http://detnews.com/article/20100304/OPINION03/3040437/Does-DPS-leader-s-writing-send-wrong-message)?


The president of the Detroit school board, Otis Mathis, is waging a legal battle to steer the academic future of 90,000 children, in the nation's lowest-achieving big city district.

He also acknowledges he has difficulty composing a coherent English sentence. Here's a sample from an e-mail he sent to friends and supporters on Sunday night, uncorrected for errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage. It begins:

If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.
...
Another email:
Do DPS control the Foundation or outside group? If an outside group control the foundation, then what is DPS Board row with selection of is director? Our we mixing DPS and None DPS row's, and who is the watch dog?
...
Is Mathis a success story? A man who beat the odds to win political success and career opportunities on the strength of his personality and judgment?

Or is he an example of the system's worst failings -- a disinterested student who always found ways to graduate, even when he didn't meet the requirements -- likely to perpetuate lax academic standards if the board wins its court battle with Bobb over control?


Success or political mess?

[William Haskins]

what do you think, don?

[Don]

Personally, I think Detroit is the canary of American cities, and will be the first to burn as the economy continues to collapse. This is just another pile of kindling.

Or was I supposed to pull my punches in the interest of reasoned discourse? ;)

[charlotte49ers]

I'm a teacher, and yes, I do think they should. However, I realize that e-mails, forums, texts, etc. aren't representative of their abilities. Also, we all have grammatical, spelling, etc. shortcomings, so I can forgive some things (I have them myself). But when a person writes so poorly you can't decipher it or it sounds simply ignorant, that is a problem.

[William Haskins]

hiring practices at that level that are based on political considerations rather than educational ones are doomed to fail.

[Perks]

It's a misery is what it is. And confusing.

I grew up on welfare and free lunch and Salvation Army pants, and yet my mother is (and always was) eloquent and perfectly capable of both abstract and concrete reasoning. Otis Mathis may be a very nice man, and perhaps he cares for the success of the children that pass through Detroit's schools. That's definitely a start and perhaps even the most heavily weighted requirement, but it is astounding that anyone that hobbled, anyone teetering on the brink of functional illiteracy, would feel bold enough to make a run for the school board's top spot.

I don't understand how this happens.

[ajkjd01]

You know what? A typo here and there is human. We all do that without trying to.

A lot of very smart people, even writers, struggle to put together sentences in the way they want to. That doesn't mean they're not smart, or that they can't teach.

Obviously, it might not be a good idea for him to be a English or composition teacher, but does that mean he wouldn't be a good science or math teacher? How about music? Or history? Speaking in a classroom is definitely a different skill set than writing. How many writing teachers can't teach their way out of a paper bag, but are brilliant writers? How many brilliant speakers need someone else to help craft what they write?

[clintl]

Let's be fair here. The president of a school board is not an educator, and most are not trained education professionals. They are lay people with an interest in education who have been elected to oversee the professionals. If Mr. Mathis was a professional directly instructing students, then this would be a problem. But he's not, and I've worked for companies who had managers who wrote emails just as incoherent as these. And who, nevertheless, were quite successful and competent in their jobs.

[Perks]

Typos are definitely forgivable. At least I hope they are or I'm doomed.

But those aren't typos. That's gibberish. Not a whole lot that is beneficial is going to get done in a school district where all the board members and relevant outside parties have to chase down intent and meaning in the emails they receive from the president.

I think Don's analogy of the mine canary is a very apt one.

ETA - but, yes, this would be even worse if this man was a teacher.

[Don]

Read the OP again. Read the emails in the OP again.

A typo here and there??????

[Namatu]

I was talking with a friend about this last night. She's a teacher in the metropolitan Detroit area, and it's a big issue. Mathis is the head of the Detroit Public Schools. If he can't communicate effectively, how well can he comprehend? How effective an advocate can he be? The Detroit schools are challenged enough. (My friend used to have to buy paper and pencils for her students when she worked there.) They deserve a leader who is also a role model of educational success. He may be smart, he may be well-liked, but is he the best advocate for a school system whose performance is consistently in the dumps?

[Selah March]

Science teachers teach science using language. History teachers teach history using language. Math, music, health, art... it doesn't matter. It all requires at least a basic facility with language. Communication itself requires that much, and teaching is communication.

My middle school-aged kids write essays in every class, including math (usually short paragraphs on how a given concept relates to another concept). A teacher who cannot write grammatically or spell properly will be unable to correct bad grammar or spelling in an essay on any given topic. No correction of bad grammar and spelling equals lost learning opportunities.

[Namatu]

If Mr. Mathis was a professional directly instructing students, then this would be a problem. But he's not.No, but he is in charge of the entire school district. He's the representative and advocate for the school district and all the teachers and students in it. How can he do his job effectively if he can't write a coherent sentence? How can he present a cogent, persuasive argument for more money in the budget? How can we trust that he comprehends reports and analyses that contain language beyond "See Jane run"? Lots of people aren't skilled at written communication and can still create complete and proper, sensible sentences.

[Ken]

... many bosses I've had were unable to write. Administrative assistants took care of their correspondences and everything went along smoothly like that. This situation is a bit different of course with the boss being head of a school board.

[Romantic Heretic]

*Shrugs* Perhaps he has a learning disability that makes it difficult for him to write properly.

Personally, I'd prefer to judge him on the results that he gets. If he improves education in Detroit then who gives a flying fuck how well he writes.

[Plot Device]

A little SYW action is in order:



The president of the Detroit school board, Otis Mathis, is waging a legal battle to steer the academic future of 90,000 children, in the nation's lowest-achieving big city district.


He also acknowledges he has difficulty composing a coherent English sentence. Here's a sample from an e-mail he sent to friends and supporters on Sunday night, uncorrected for errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage. It begins:


If you saw Sunday's Free Press, that it shown showed how Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, moved Mark Twain to Boynton. which have Boynton has three times the number as many seats then as students, and that was one of the reason's reasons he gave for closing that school: to too many empty seats.

...

Another email:

Do Does DPS control the Foundation? or does an outside group control it? If an outside group controls the fFoundation, then what is DPS Board's row role with selection of isits director? OurAre we mixing DPS and None non-DPS row's roles, and who is the watch dog?

...





So ... I think a see maybe two or three things that are probably just typos (God knows I'm guilty of those). But the majority of these errors are evidence of an amazingly poor grasp of the written language.





.

[Perks]

Mathis and another student unsuccessfully challenged the use of an English proficiency test as a requirement for graduation. In 1992, when the case went to trial, the lawsuit gained national attention. Mathis said then his failure to pass the test "made me feel stupid." The requirement was eventually dropped in 2007, and Mathis applied to get his degree the next year, after his election.

You don't need to pass an English proficiency test to graduate in Detroit?

[icerose]

I personally believe that anyone involved in school boards or administrations on any level should have first been a teacher and have a heavy education background. That definitely includes the ones at the elected levels.

[icerose]

You don't need to pass an English proficiency test to graduate in Detroit?

And people wonder why we are so far behind other nations. :cry:

Oh, the poor little guy felt stupid because he couldn't pass a basic test on his native language. Poor baby, let's give him a blue ribbon for trying. Gah! Drives me crazy!

[backslashbaby]

"Instead of telling them that they can't write and won't be anything, I show that cannot stop you," Mathis says. "If Detroit Public Schools can allow kids to dream, with whatever weakness they have, that's something. ...It's not about what you don't have. It's what you cando."

Because of his struggles and perseverance, Mathis describes himself as a role model.


He graduated from Southwestern High School in 1973 with what he says was a 1.8 grade-point average but was previously reported as a .98 average. After serving in the Navy, Wayne State placed him in a special program to help academically unqualified students move forward, on the G.I. Bill.

He stayed at Wayne for 15 years, as a student and a counselor, becoming a virtual "prisoner of Wayne," as he jokes, unable to graduate.

Mathis and another student unsuccessfully challenged the use of an English proficiency test as a requirement for graduation. In 1992, when the case went to trial, the lawsuit gained national attention. Mathis said then his failure to pass the test "made me feel stupid." The requirement was eventually dropped in 2007, and Mathis applied to get his degree the next year, after his election.



From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100304/OPINION03/3040437/Does-DPS-leader-s-writing-send-wrong-message#ixzz0iLgJkVnw


It looks as if his problem has affected his philosophy on the matter. He may have 'made it' but I do not think it is appropriate for him to act as if illiteracy is accepted in the white collar world. That's not a good plan for kids to follow.

[Plot Device]

One thing I want to comment upon: after I corrected all of bhis grammar up in Post #16 of this thread, I re-read his intended statements. And I thought to myself: Wow! He sounds like a GREAT adiministrator! (Too bad he has such a handicap!)

[Don]

You don't need to pass an English proficiency test to graduate in Detroit?
Nope, apparently because it made some people "feel stupid."

Oh, wait, that would be the current head of the school board.

Nah, nothing to see here. Move on.

[DeleyanLee]

You don't need to pass an English proficiency test to graduate in Detroit?

IIRC, Detroit Public Schools lost their accreditation for a while, or maybe still, which explains a lot to me.

My kids recently graduated from Michigan public schools (not Detroit's) and were not required to take an English proficiency test. Math, yes. English, no. Science, no. History, no. If the state doesn't require it, I doubt that Detroit would.

[Namatu]

Wayne State dropped that requirement in 2007? And here I'd been hoping it was from a decade or two ago and had since been corrected.

[Magdalen]

You don't need to pass an English proficiency test to graduate in Detroit?

Not if you are wearing the right sunglasses.

[Perks]

*Shrugs* Perhaps he has a learning disability that makes it difficult for him to write properly.One of the unfortunate things about disabilities is that they can narrow your options for careers and hobbies. If you're born blind, you probably won't be a bus driver. That's not a value judgment on the person's general worthiness or projected success in other endeavors.


Personally, I'd prefer to judge him on the results that he gets. If he improves education in Detroit then who gives a flying fuck how well he writes.True, the proof will be in the result. To me, it only seems an unnecessary risk in an already flagging school district.

The article cites Detroit's widespread difficulties in reading and writing. So, it worries me that school, at least in Detroit, is now about making sure kids don't feel bad and teachers and administrators finding ways to get past unruly behavior:

"We picked him (to be president) because we thought he has the intelligence for it and the tolerance for disruptive behavior," says Reverend David Murray.
It seems to me that Mr. Mathis' experience would perhaps give him valuable insight that could be useful in the school board's various considerations, but I also think that the president of the school board should be able to communicate and process written material without it being a team effort.

[nighttimer]

Perhaps Mr. Mathis should resign his post and immediately move down South where he can fulfill his life's mission and God's great vision by heading up The Texas Board of Education (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html).

There are places where functional illiteracy is not a detriment, but an asset. Texas appears to be one of those places.

[Perks]

Perhaps Mr. Mathis should resign his post and immediately move down South where he can fulfill his life's mission and God's great vision by heading up The Texas Board of Education (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html).

There are places where functional illiteracy is not a detriment, but an asset. Texas appears to be one of those places.

That's an entirely different kettle of fish. In that sort of problem, we needn't be overly concerned with the ones who can't communicate effectively. It's the ones who can who are poised to do the most damage - on either side of the extremes.

[William Haskins]

nighttimer often enjoys a different kettle of fish.

[nighttimer]

That's an entirely different kettle of fish. In that sort of problem, we needn't be overly concerned with the ones who can't communicate effectively. It's the ones who can who are poised to do the most damage - on either side of the extremes.

I view it differently: Replacing history with conservative dogma is no better than educators who may be fine and upstanding people, but set a poor example for developing minds to follow.

Mathis isn't so much a gritty, gutty fighter overcoming long odds as he has faked his way to the top and is now resorting to litigation to hold on to his job. I don't find that particularly noble or inspirational.

nighttimer often enjoys a different kettle of fish.

With plenty of tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon.

[Plot Device]

With plenty of tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon.

William has an affinity for tartar sauce.

[Perks]

I view it differently: Replacing history with conservative dogma is no better than educators who may be fine and upstanding people, but set a poor example for developing minds to follow.

I'm pretty sure I didn't say it was better.

[Williebee]

Ok, so let's see:

We know that Mister Mathis is not a classroom educator, or even a school administrator. He is the President of the School Board, an oversight committee, basically. He was elected to that position "by a 10-1 vote"

Even Winfrey, his defeated rival for the presidency, declined to criticize his qualifications.

We know from the article that he see's his shortcomings, and has struggled with them much of his life, including spending time in special education classes early on.

Despite that fact, he HAS a college degree, and not one that he purchased, online, from a diploma mill.

And he is a U.S. Navy Veteran, who has served academia and the public for most of his adult life.

And, apparently he's willing to take the public abuse in order to do this job that doesn't pay crap.

Everything I'm seeing about this man's history says we're going to have step up our own lives to be worthy of giving this man any shit.

[SPMiller]

I have known some exceptionally bright people who couldn't spell or craft sentences to save their life. Because this is a writers' site, we take those skills for granted, but we shouldn't.

[backslashbaby]

He says himself in the article that he didn't come to class.

He can certainly be a great man. Of course! But to take your college to court for having a literacy exam? No. Literacy is too important. Of course you should be literate to receive an academic college degree.

He can use a secretary and hide his own problem as far as I care; but he's taken a stand that it is not important. That's not OK for someone in charge of kids, imho.

[Perks]

He actually sounds like a nice guy, except for the suing the college for making him feel bad part. That's annoying and, along with the endorsement of his "tolerance for disruptive behavior", could be an indication that Mr. Mathis has an unconventional perception of the purpose of schooling. His learning disability is not his fault, so I'm certainly not "giving him shit". I am, though, questioning if his position will improve the Detroit educational system and the prevalence of functional illiteracy in that community.

That he was voted in, with any margin, by the school board presiding over the nation's lowest-achieving big city district, doesn't launch a swell of confidence.

[Zoombie]

Is it weird that those sentences make perfect sense to me?

...er...wait, no, that's not weird at all.

[Gretad08]

I'm gonna go with his colleagues on this one. They work with him everyday and have supported the decision to elect him. They'd certainly have a better idea of his strengths and weaknesses than we would.

ETA: I just hit 1000 posts...I don't know why that's so cool, but it just is!

[Zoombie]

Pfff, trusting in other people's opinions is for squares and communists, Gretad.

[Namatu]

Having some familiarity with the Detroit city council and school board, I won't automatically credit the opinions of either. Detroit is screwed up for many reasons, and they're among them.

[Gretad08]

Pfff, trusting in other people's opinions is for squares and communists, Gretad.\

How'd you know I'm a communist square? Your intuition is astounding!

[TerzaRima]

His colleagues--the Detroit School Board has long been infamous for making Tammany Hall look like a church quilting circle. The mayor's been trying to clean house and they're being less than cooperative. Or what Namatu said.

[Medievalist]

You know what? A typo here and there is human. We all do that without trying to.

A lot of very smart people, even writers, struggle to put together sentences in the way they want to. That doesn't mean they're not smart, or that they can't teach.

Yes it does; the ability to communicate effectively in written and spoken English is a basic requirement for success. If we want our students to meet basic requirements than our teachers must as well.

Those aren't occasional typos; those are errors of syntax and grammar that are reflected in his spoken English.

[Medievalist]

*Shrugs* Perhaps he has a learning disability that makes it difficult for him to write properly.

Those errors do not reflect a learning disability; they reflect inadequate exposure to written English, and inadequate practice.

Says she who does have a learning disability, and training in working with LD students.

[Perks]

Those errors do not reflect a learning disability; they reflect inadequate exposure to written English, and inadequate practice.

Says she who does have a learning disability, and training in working with LD students.Yes, now you - lady - could run a school system, if'n' you wanted.

[Plot Device]

The man seems to be a very clear thinker, and is probably an outstanding ORAL comunicator. His writen skills are what suck so badly.

Maybe he needs a secretrary who can take dictation from him into his e-mails.

[backslashbaby]

I agree with Medi. But even if it were a learning disability, until he conquers it, he should not hold himself up as a role model.

It's one thing to say, "I needed more time, but I passed the literacy test" and another to say, "If you are really bad at this, you'll still succeed in the white collar world. I did."

[Williebee]

Having some familiarity with the Detroit city council and school board, I won't automatically credit the opinions of either. Detroit is screwed up for many reasons, and they're among them.

You'll get no argument from me there. Speaking of the "either" (http://www.freep.com/article/20100316/NEWS01/3160316/1318/Bobb-Close-45-Detroit-schools).

Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, asked parents Monday night to get behind his academic plan, an ambitious road map to the future that envisions a smaller district with the closing of 45 more schools this year and sets dramatic targets for student achievement...Bobb also said that the district would need $700 million more in bond money for school improvements. He suggested a new Bates Academy, a facility for swimming and diving at Renaissance, a sports complex at Cass Tech and a new facility for special-needs students... More than a vision for the future of Detroit Public Schools, the new academic plan unveiled Monday night is a new accountability tool for the public, Bobb told an invite-only crowd of 800 on Monday..."We will now have the assurance that someone is watching," he said, referring to an accountability commission that philanthropic leaders expect to set up to grade every school in Detroit, including DPS, charter and private schools. "Ours won't be a hollow plan like so many that have graced the desks within DPS over the years and collected dust on the shelves."

It goes on later to relate that Mister Bobb did not consult with the school board when coming up with this plan. Wonder how much that might have to do with the recent fuss over Mister Mathis' writing ability?

[mscelina]

IMO, he's already pretty much established through past and current behavior that he does not think the minimum requirements of literacy are important to students--otherwise, he would never have sued Wayne State for wanting to make certain he was at least literate before they gave him a degree. And regardless of what his thinking patterns or oral communication skills are, part of his job requires effective written communication skills--here again, at least the basic minimum requirements of literacy. So what if he can't do math either? Is he going to sue the Detroit School System when he 'feels bad' that the educational budget doesn't add up?

The people in charge of education at every level should at the very least be people with a love of learning. A professional college student who can't be bothered to actually learn the most basic of linguistic skills is NOT someone who should be running a school system. Jesus Christ--that's like making a convicted felon the director of a prison or a heroin addict the lead psychologist at a halfway house.

You cannot be an effective advocate for a system you don't have a modicum of respect for. If this gentleman was a success story? If he'd overcome the illiteracy imposed upon him by the Detroit School System and is struggling to make certain the same thing happens to the students being affected by it now? That's one thing. But this?

Hell, no.

[Plot Device]

Williebee, call me a pessimist, but I smell kickbacks in the works of those proposed construction projects.

[Williebee]

You cannot be an effective advocate for a system you don't have a modicum of respect for. We don't have evidence that he doesn't. We do have a suggestion, re: the Wayne State lawsuit, but we need to look a little deeper on that one. He hasn't said that he doesn't think literacy is important. He has, in fact, indicated the opposite. He has said, however, that a child can succeed even if they don't have a certain level of literacy.

If you write off the kid who can't read or write to a certain level, who do you write off next? The kid that can't count as fast as you? Can't walk as fast as you?

...call me a pessimist, but I smell kickbacks in the works of those proposed construction projects.

Ok, you're a pessimist. Me too. That is to say, it wouldn't surprise me.

[backslashbaby]

We don't have evidence that he doesn't. We do have a suggestion, re: the Wayne State lawsuit, but we need to look a little deeper on that one. He hasn't said that he doesn't think literacy is important. He has, in fact, indicated the opposite. He has said, however, that a child can succeed even if they don't have a certain level of literacy.

If you write off the kid who can't read or write to a certain level, who do you write off next? The kid that can't count as fast as you? Can't walk as fast as you?



Ok, you're a pessimist. Me too. That is to say, it wouldn't surprise me.

You don't write them off, but you don't tell them to expect to do very well in a field where literacy is absolutely key.

I used to love rock climbing. With my disabled back, I really will never do it again [without medical advances], no matter how much anyone believes that I could if I tried ;) More to the point, I'd be a very bad person to choose to frame your house :)

[Namatu]

You'll get no argument from me there. Speaking of the "either" (http://www.freep.com/article/20100316/NEWS01/3160316/1318/Bobb-Close-45-Detroit-schools).Oh, that's brilliant. Close half the public schools and still aspire to dramatically increase the graduation rate to 98%? That's got FAIL written all over it.

It goes on later to relate that Mister Bobb did not consult with the school board when coming up with this plan. Wonder how much that might have to do with the recent fuss over Mister Mathis' writing ability?It could be that, and it could be plain old city political dysfunction. Listening the the school board or city council talk makes you want to run to the nearest wall to knock your head against it in hopes the pain and *kathunk* sound will drown them out.

He hasn't said that he doesn't think literacy is important. He has, in fact, indicated the opposite. He has said, however, that a child can succeed even if they don't have a certain level of literacy. True, but is he also implying by that statement - or providing a symbolic argument - that literacy standards for DPS students should be lowered based on the example he sets?

This article (http://sitfu.com/2010/03/10/detroit-public-schools-chief-otis-mathis-only-semi-literate-wtf/)states: “Yes, I can read. I’m capable of reading a lot of information and regurgitation,” says Mathis, who told me he sometimes needs to read documents two or three times to fully comprehend their contents but then masters — and memorizes — them."

And yet also, as was noted previously:
"He stayed at Wayne for 15 years, as a student and a counselor, becoming a virtual “prisoner of Wayne,” as he jokes, unable to graduate."

Bolding is mine.

He can allegedly memorize documents after repeated readings, yet he couldn't master what was necessary to graduate from Wayne State over a fifteen-year period. Implication being: He wasn't motivated enough to do it to graduate from college, but his current job is another story. Granted, that's my interpretation. I could be wrong. He could be serving a load of bs regarding the memorization. I'm open to other interpretations.

If you write off the kid who can't read or write to a certain level, who do you write off next? The kid that can't count as fast as you? Can't walk as fast as you?I don't think it's a matter of writing off. It's unusual to hear numerous favorable opinions from Detroit's school board or city council. That says something to his credit. For me, it's more a matter of appropriateness. If he doesn't have someone pre-screening/editing his emails and other writings, is he the best representative for the Detroit schools? Personal success story aside, is Mathis able to be the advocate they so desperately need? Bottom line: His role is in large part PR, selling and promoting the schools, and he needs to communicate effectively in order to fulfill that role. Evidence shows he's not doing that. He may have many other great qualities and skills, but communication isn't one of them.

Further, to simply say he's not good with language sidesteps an issue. If he's such a role model and has overcome this "disability" with language, identify what that disability is so that others with it can identify with him and his success and perhaps allow skeptics insight into the challenges he faces and gain greater respect for his accomplishments. Otherwise, to me, it makes no sense: can memorize and understand documents, but cannot graduate from college after fifteen years. I don't get that.

[nighttimer]

Everything I'm seeing about this man's history says we're going to have step up our own lives to be worthy of giving this man any shit.

The resume of Mr. Mathis isn't the question and neither are his life experiences. They might make for a good Lifetime movie, but that's not the issue.

Otis Mathis has a learning disability and while that doesn't mean he can't do the job as the school board president, it's not "giving this man any shit" by
wondering if he's the right man to lead a school system that is a wreck.

[blacbird]

Yes.

So should business executives, attorneys, civil servants, scientists, academicians.

Alas . . .

caw

[Williebee]

could be that, and it could be plain old city political dysfunction. Listening the the school board or city council talk makes you want to run to the nearest wall to knock your head against it in hopes the pain and *kathunk* sound will drown them out.

Oh yeah. I once spent over an hour listening to a school board debate the color "red" -- that is, the name, not the shade, for the basketball team's uniforms.

[LOG]

I wish some of my university professors wrote legibly.

[Medievalist]

I know I sound like a hard ass, but this, from the article:

“Yes, I can read. I’m capable of reading a lot of information and regurgitation,” says Mathis, who told me he sometimes needs to read documents two or three times to fully comprehend their contents but then masters — and memorizes — them.

Memorization and regurgitation are not what education is about. Moreover, if you listen to him speak, the grammar errors are in his speech as well as in his writing.

His desire to avoid the writing requirement by suing is not something that suggests he understands education; rather, it suggests someone who wants an easy out.

If he knows he has problems with written English, he needs to hire staff.

His attitude regarding standards is frightening; if students can't meet the standard, he thinks the solution is to change the standard.

We've seen that doesn't work.

And, speaking as someone with an official IQ of 42, who has to go to extraordinary lengths to make my writing coherent, he's not getting any sympathy points from me.

[Plot Device]

If he knows he has problems with written English, he needs to hire staff.

His attitude regarding standards is frightening; if students can't meet the standard, he thinks the solution is to change the standard.

We've seen that doesn't work.

And, speaking as someone with an official IQ of 42, who has to go to extraordinary lengths to make my writing coherent, he's not getting any sympathy points from me.


I agree, he should hire staff

And there's no effin' way you have an IQ of 42. Whoever administered that IQ test to you must have messed it up.

And you seriously struggle to make your writing coherent??? Again, no effin' way. Your writing here is awesome. And your posts are pretty frequent. Whatever your work-arond is, it seems to be working.

[Magdalen]

My concern is that (somehow) Mr. Mathis' level of literacy is viewed as acceptable for Detroit High School Senior-level graduates. I was appalled at the poor writing and editing skills displayed within the sample of Mr. Mathis' writing.

[robeiae]

And there's no effin' way you have an IQ of 42. Whoever administered that IQ test to you must have messed it up.
I agree. That seems a little high...




:ROFL:
I slay myself.



Bu seriously, IQ tests are simply not the end all be all. That doesn't mean they're completely useless, but it's a mistake to believe the results of any test indicates an absolute, with regard to the mental ability of the taker.

My son--for instance--has taken the gifted test (it's basically an IQ kind of thing) a couple of times in elementary school. He hasn't done well, at all. But he gets almost all A's. And his teachers keep recommending him for gifted classes. In his particular case, I think his struggles come from shyness and a real fear of making a mistake. It's something that he's only just starting to overcome. Of course, someone that scored a 2 on IQ test would--at the very least--raise some suspicions...

[TerzaRima]

I'm 5'5" on a good day, flatfooted, and can't talk and not trip at the same time, but I still am working on my jump shot for the WNBA. No one--NO ONE!!--has the right to rain on my dreams.

[Medievalist]

I agree. That seems a little high...

This is the assessment of my older siblings, both of whom are mega high scorers/gifted-and-talented/National Merit Scolars/Valedictorian and Salutatorian respectively.

I'm OK. I can cope with being an under-achiever.