From: your.name@isp.com   
      
   "RT"  wrote in message   
   news:4C259D64.2D5BC16A@hotmMOVEail.com...   
   > Your Name wrote:   
   > >   
   > > "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   
   >   
   > What do you consider "the basics" to be?   
   >   
   > > 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   
   >   
   > Education is more than just spelling and 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,   
   >   
   > You just want a bunch of hicks running about.   
   >   
   > > 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   
   >   
   > Completely separate from the curriculum.   
   >   
   > > and recreation that they don't even remotely have time (nor the money   
   thanks   
   > > to idiot government wastage!)  to teach the basics.   
   >   
   > What do you consider "the basics" to be?   
      
   Try being able to read and write properly (something a large proportion of   
   Interent users can't do for a start), spell correctly, correct grammar,   
   simple mathematics, basic life skills (e.g. boil an egg), etc. Learning   
   Shakespeare, complex algebra, etc. are an unnecessary waste of time and   
   money for most people, and should be left as an optional choice in later   
   high school years for those who want to read it.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)