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 Writing across the curriculum? 
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A major push in the school system currently is to improve writing skills by having students "write across the curriculum". For example, Math, Science, and other subject instructors are being forced to have students write subjects pertaining to that particular subject. Instructors are having to take atleast five minutes of class time to allow students to write. From the technological aspect, are the chat rooms responsible for having an adverse affect on the correct way students should write and speak. For example, instead of spelling the word, "you" out, students will put "u"! What do you think?

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Katie Lamberth


Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:28 pm
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I think that students have to be able to separate their writing skills. Of course kids are going to find it easier to type "u" rather than you, but they have to know that this type of abbreviation is not acceptable in an educational atmosphere. It reminds of how teenagers speak. When I was in high school, I definitely had a different language for communicating with my friends rather than what I used with my teachers and my parents. It is all about what is appropriate for that particular situation. I think students need to practice their writing skills. The skill is one that they will need for the rest of their lives, whether they plan to attend college or not, everyone should be literate enough to express their thoughts clearly.

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Brandi Fisher


Sun Feb 13, 2005 3:29 pm
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I agree that kids should know how to write properly. It is one thing to type shorthand in a chat room, but that kind of writing won't fly when it comes to writing reports or papers for your boss and/or customers. I have no clue how to type or understand shorthand. I'd rather someone write normally and correctly

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Heath Robertson


Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:33 am
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I agree with all of you. Kids need to know the difference between writing on Instant Messenger and writing for a class. It is ok to write shorthand with your friends online, but they also need to know how to write a paper or to fill out a job application correctly. That is going to be more important to them in the long run and they need to realize that.

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Kim Hertzler


Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:30 am
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I agree with everyone. Students should be able to write correctly. I don't think that computer chat room shorthand is all that is to blame. I feel that along the way many student's writing is overlooked and this is something as future educators we must be aware of.

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Brittany Burton


Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:42 am
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I agree and would like to stress that this responsibility be shared by teachers other than just English teachers.

I know history teachers who do not count off for content, spelling, etc. and this only reinforces the idea that grammar does not matter.

As you guys well know, the sharing of intellectual ideas is made easier by using standard conventions of English. If all departments don't recognize these rules, then formal writing just becomes another code to learn for certain purposes.

I can say that even with the big push from the state and in current journals, etc.., most teachers outside of English do not grade or assess writing the way it should be. Perhaps we need more training. I know at my school the other departments could use a push in this direction.

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Robin Lowe


Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:14 pm
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I agree with Robin, that the only way to work with students on writing is to have all the teachers in the different subjects to correct errors on assignments and papers. Every now and then I'll catch myself typing an abbreviation in a paper. So, I know there are kids struggling with writing since we are now using computers as a major source of communication.

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Kendall Cline


Mon Feb 14, 2005 12:39 pm
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I agree with most to all of the above posts. Yes, students are using the internet and instant messenger more and more each day, and yes, they do use short hand writing, but they DEFINITLY need to know when to use it and when not to. There is a time and a place for everything and students need to know that when writing a formal paper you DO NOT use short hand. One way to teach students this, is by doing what Robin said. All teachers MUST grade papers for mispellings and grammatical errors. If not students will never break the habit.

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Darcy Alexander


Mon Feb 14, 2005 5:41 pm
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I think that it all depends on the student and their level. If a teacher is just getting through to the student then when should encourage any form of writing. With the internet taking over most coversations students should know both but it turly depends on where you are with the students.

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Brandon Shivers


Tue Feb 15, 2005 12:59 am
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I basically agree with all of the above posts. My two cents in this matter is this: in school, you write one way, the way all of us think as proper; then when writing, whether it's online in a chatroom or in a letter to a pen pal, there is that particular student's own way of writing. I believe we all have short cuts and abbreviations that we use that not everyone will understand. In my undergraduate classes in journalism, we were taught a basic form of shorthand so that we could conduct interviews faster and actually pay attention at speeches and meetings so we could interact more as needed. Shorthand is important, but the proper way to write is also important, because as Heath said, it won't fly when writing reports for your boss.

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Daniel Inman


Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:16 pm
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I basically agree with all the other post. I wanted to touch on Brandon's comment. You never know what type of student will come into your class. You should be open to helping students learn the proper way. Although, you can never expect that all students will know the proper way to write a paper. Even today I still struggle somewhat with grammar. I think if more teachers combine to work together continously, and reinforce to use proper grammar in all subjects the problem will not be as bad in the future.

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Hannah O'Daniel


Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:07 pm
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There are numerous types of dialouge that take place in this society. The chat rooms are very fast paced and so there is little time to write long drawn out statements when dialouge is rapidly pouring. It is similiar to shorthand that court clerks use when typing up court proceedings. Grammar is not the formal stylized version that is brought forth as the epitome of the English language. In addition, you talk with parents, friends, and professors all on differing degrees. You do not say things with your buddies that you say towards a professor. You do not talk about things with your parents that you talk about with your friends. I do not say to my dad "What's up dawg." I do not say to my friends "How do you do." I think that we must take this into context. Now, I support having the very formal grammar lessons for business affairs and the like, but to say that grammar should be highly enforced on chat rooms? That's just plain ridiculous. We should be mindful of all the varied language modifications that we use on a daily basis.

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Travis Souther

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Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:25 am
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I really don't think that a chatroom or IM has a lot to do with how a child writes in a classroom. To type TTYL instead of talk to you later, is simply a time saving technique. I think our Word processors that have spell check and grammar check are doing more harm than slang used on instant messenger or a chatroom.

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~*Paula Propst*~


Mon Feb 28, 2005 10:20 pm
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