From: your.name@isp.com   
      
   "Hunter"  wrote in message   
   news:MPG.268e1cfb5cb8271c98a528@news.optonline.net...   
   > In article  116.dial.dyn.ihug.co.nz>, your.name@isp.com says...   
   > > In article , MDH   
   > >  wrote:   
   > >   
   > > > "Your Name"  wrote in   
   > > > news:hvts7a$soc$1@lust.ihug.co.nz:   
   > > >   
   > > > > Dropping Shakespeare and other such nonsense to have time to   
   actually   
   > > > > teach useful and necessary things makes a school better.   
   > > >   
   > > > YEah, you just lost all credibility.   
   > >   
   > > Yep, because studying Shakespeare's garbage is just so worthwhile, while   
   > > learning how to spell correctly is pointless.  :-\   
   > ---   
   > Shakespeare is garbage? No wonder you don't like the new BSG IIRC.   
   > The new BSG has a heavy Shakespearean bent. "Star Trek" is famous for   
   > using Shakespeare in its plots. "Star Wars" takes a lot of its cues   
   > from "The Bard".   
   >   
   > Granted it is hard to understand because it uses a lot of words we   
   > don't use anymore or they have changed meaning. But teaching modern   
   > English with Shakespeare's classics isn't incompatible. We went on   
   > for years teaching Shakespeare in English classes and graduated the   
   > large majority of students who can used common English intelligently   
   > and learned the rudiments of Shakespeare. I'm taking about from the   
   > 1960's back thought to the 19th century, so teaching Shakespeare   
   > along with standard English rules isn't why students seem to not know   
   > basic English.   
      
   Schools don't teach the basics because they waste too much time forcing   
   students to read books that are worthlessly boring, including Shakespeare,   
   Catcher in the Rye, and numerous other so-called "classics" ... and yes they   
   are boring, the vast majority of students will tell you that.   
      
   It's much more important to know how to do things like spell and use grammar   
   correctly, rather than uselessly knowing what "To be or not to be" is on   
   about, let alone trying to figure out the stupidity of "what was the author   
   thinking when they wrote that" style questions (they were probably thinking,   
   it's time for lunch so I'll finish this chapter quickly) ... no doubt it's   
   this last idiocy that leads so many fools around the Internet to try and   
   read between the lines instead of what's actually typed.   :-\   
      
   It's even worse in today's schools where they've completely lost common   
   sense and are so busy sticking their noses into kids' lunchboxes, home life   
   and recreation that they don't even remotely have time (nor the money thanks   
   to idiot government wastage!)  to teach the basics.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)