This would apparently include people who use edu-jargon. That rarified language that is used by those trying to sound sophisticated and expert, but in fact end up just looking like they don't know how to use the English language. It's oxymoronic in a way (heavy on the moron), if you stop to think about it. After all, here is a group of people that presume to be educators, that are responsible for students learning the very language that these so-called educators consistently mangle and abuse.
Latest case in point - a letter written by a superintendent of a school district to the teachers of said district.
To paraphrase 2 examples that stand out:
1) "We are making strides in our efforts to graduate students college ready."
2) "All schools should be schools of quality."
The first one is irritatingly awkward, and in my opinion (could be wrong here) at the very least a hyphen b/w "college" and "ready" would help immensely. However, I find the whole construction to be leaden and would opt to trash it and start over. I hate the phrase, "We are making strides in our efforts to . . ."
The second one is just stupid - it sounds all smart and stuff, but really, what's wrong with "quality schools"? How does the "of" help convey meaning? It doesn't. In fact, it makes the sentence harder to read. This is just stupidity posing as intelligence.
Maybe the problem isn't that the curriculum is being dumbed down, it's that the people in charge are down-right dumb.
2 comments:
Hey! I work at a school of lackluster quality. Do you?
ha! touché! Currently, I am dubious of the quality of the educational facility in which I am gainfully employed as an educator, but if we consider the metrics by which schools are assessed rather than the pedagogical qualities of the instructional personages, I suppose perhaps it is of less than stellar but more than shit quality.
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