Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!laura From: laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) Newsgroups: net.cse,net.college Subject: Re: English as taught to high school students who are interested in science Message-ID: <4884@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Tue, 8-Jan-85 11:46:35 EST Article-I.D.: utzoo.4884 Posted: Tue Jan 8 11:46:35 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 8-Jan-85 11:46:35 EST References: <738@ames.UUCP>, <70@mot.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 31 I don't know whether this is universal or not, but in elementary and high schools in the Toronto area there is a fair amount of hostility between the ``artsies'' and the ``nurds''. This hostility is at least maintained, and perhaps even instilled by the english and history teachers. Perhaps they have good cause. I remember that I thought the whole purpose of history class was to give me a quiet time to do math homework in....but I think that the problem is more fundamental than this. I remember years and years of english teachers who were teaching book after book whose basic plot was ``nature is good, technology is evil'' and ``man is evil, the universe is unfathomable'' and ``creativity is an essentially irrational process, therefore all pursuits of reason are inhuman and/or futile''. I am fortunate in that I discovered books long before I discovered the school system, because if I thought that what was taught as ``english literature'' deserved the title I am sure that I would hate and loathe all ``english'' classes to this day. The other thing that I recall is a lot of corporal punishment in the aid of getting me to learn how to spell. This didn't work. I still have no idea how people learn how to spell things. I have problems remembering a seven digit telephone number for as long as it takes me to dial it -- so some days it just fascinates me that I can learn anything at all! Saying ``teach people how to spell'' is all very well indeed -- but I am *still* wondering *how* I was supposed to master this skill. Laura Creighton utzoo!laura