What's Next?

In April, 1978, U.S. News and World Report published a piece titled "Can the English Language Be Saved?" The unnamed author wrote that "Vigorous efforts to rescue the battered English language are under way from the [Carter] White House to classrooms across the country." More than 30 years later, in April, 2010, About.com writer Richard Nordquist wrote "The Endless Decline of the English Language," noting, with examples, that "Doomsayers have been tracking the decline of the English language for centuries." Please add this doomsayer to the list, not only for the decline of language, which has been co-opted by television and textspeak, but also for the decline of punctuation. When I first read Lynn Truss's great book, Eats Shoots & Leaves I found it mildly amusing; now that I've taught writing to 18- and 19-year old college freshmen for three years, I find it sadly true. Why can't America's young people write clear, understan...

Today I faced the music. I applied my ass to the seat of my rolling office chair and started the serious preparations for teaching five classes in the spring semester, which starts in 10 days. I'll be teaching four face-to-face classes and one on-line class in composition; this class is the second part of the two-semester series mandated by the USG Regents. My department chair made an effort to keep my 5 classes at 20 students each, but when I checked today, I found that most had 23 or 24 enrolled. Last semester I taught 5 face-to-face classses to a total of 120 students. In writing classes, this is a brutal load; most of our assessment is done through essays, written in multiple drafts. I got sick mid-semester; although the doctor said it was a sinus infection, I truly believe it was my body's reaction to reading bad writing. I took several rounds of antibiotics and now, just as I am getting ready to submit myself to this brutality again, I am beginning to feel better. Why do ...