Comments for Blogilicous http://roersm.wordpress.com What’s So Standard about All This Testing? Tue, 17 Apr 2007 19:04:36 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on ACT Obsession + Standardized Writing and Rubrics by Sound Of Silence: Deaf Education Today http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/act-obsession-standardized-writing-and-rubrics/#comment-28 Sound Of Silence: Deaf Education Today Tue, 17 Apr 2007 19:04:36 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/act-obsession-standardized-writing-and-rubrics/#comment-28 [...] David Megan Dan Andi Tami Marie Trisha Tess [...] [...] David Megan Dan Andi Tami Marie Trisha Tess [...]

]]> Comment on Teaching like Socrates: A Little History behind S.T. by Eng 310 Comments « pigsney http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/teaching-like-socrates-a-little-history-behind-st/#comment-27 Eng 310 Comments « pigsney Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:08:02 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/teaching-like-socrates-a-little-history-behind-st/#comment-27 [...] http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/teaching-like-socrates-a-little-history-behind-st/ [...] [...] http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/teaching-like-socrates-a-little-history-behind-st/ [...]

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by My little nuggets of wisdom - or insanity « and still you wonder at it all … http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-26 My little nuggets of wisdom - or insanity « and still you wonder at it all … Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:11:49 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-26 [...] My little nuggets of wisdom - or insanity Filed under: Uncategorized — by moonshot @ 7:11 pm Comment 1 [...] [...] My little nuggets of wisdom – or insanity Filed under: Uncategorized — by moonshot @ 7:11 pm Comment 1 [...]

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by moonshot http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-25 moonshot Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:54:41 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-25 Wow. I wouldn't have thought that punctuation would be such a problem either. Granted, I was never taught grammar (or at least not that I realized), but I guess I've always been an avid reader and my high school English classes ironed out any problems I may have had with punctuation. I too wonder how much standardized tests are going to help the matter. ex. (Please identify the correct punctuation missing) 5. How ridiculous [] a. . b. ? c. ! d. , e. ; What does that teach anyone? In my mind, it could actually be several of the possibilities. I think that the more familiar students are with the written word (as in, the more they read and the more they write) the better their punctuation will be. Wow. I wouldn’t have thought that punctuation would be such a problem either. Granted, I was never taught grammar (or at least not that I realized), but I guess I’ve always been an avid reader and my high school English classes ironed out any problems I may have had with punctuation. I too wonder how much standardized tests are going to help the matter. ex. (Please identify the correct punctuation missing)
5. How ridiculous []
a. .
b. ?
c. !
d. ,
e. ;
What does that teach anyone? In my mind, it could actually be several of the possibilities. I think that the more familiar students are with the written word (as in, the more they read and the more they write) the better their punctuation will be.

]]> Comment on ACT Obsession + Standardized Writing and Rubrics by Gina http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/act-obsession-standardized-writing-and-rubrics/#comment-24 Gina Mon, 16 Apr 2007 19:49:51 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/act-obsession-standardized-writing-and-rubrics/#comment-24 Hey, Great post. I agree with alot of what you had to say about tht ACT obsession that seems to have taken over the nation in our education system. Now, after the MEAP has been replaced with the ACT, this is probably only going to get worse. You're quote about how some student's feel they need to do better and better then those before them is just another point in proving that student's are too concerned with high scores rather then what exactly they are learning. Peronally, I took the ACT 3 times, just in an attempt to improve my own score and, guess what? I got the EXACT SAME SCORE EACH TIME! I realized that these tests, though they change, are test you can never really prepare fully for, nor, have a solid grasp on. I believe we need to focus more on teaching our students what they will be using in the real world, rather then what the states and government want to see if they can do. Thanks for the great post! :~: Gina :~: _\,,/ Hey,
Great post. I agree with alot of what you had to say about tht ACT obsession that seems to have taken over the nation in our education system. Now, after the MEAP has been replaced with the ACT, this is probably only going to get worse. You’re quote about how some student’s feel they need to do better and better then those before them is just another point in proving that student’s are too concerned with high scores rather then what exactly they are learning. Peronally, I took the ACT 3 times, just in an attempt to improve my own score and, guess what? I got the EXACT SAME SCORE EACH TIME! I realized that these tests, though they change, are test you can never really prepare fully for, nor, have a solid grasp on. I believe we need to focus more on teaching our students what they will be using in the real world, rather then what the states and government want to see if they can do.
Thanks for the great post!

:~: Gina :~: _\,,/

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by canknight http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-23 canknight Mon, 16 Apr 2007 05:09:58 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-23 This is a interesting post, due to the fact that we had a grammar related class discussion not too long ago. I was suprised to hear that puncuation and grammar ranked high on the list of what college professors looked for. Just as you experienced, my courses have focused more on the content of the writing than on the grammatical aspect. Here at Grand Valley we can attribute that to excellent Writing and English teachers. My high school experiences led me to believe what the article is stating. I did not work on pucuation and grammar. But I was in the higher level English classes and the focus was different. I know that the lower level classes did those boring worksheet where you added the correct puncuation to a sentence, or you underlined the appositive phrase. I substitute taught just last week and the busy work for the day was four different worksheet with these exact skills in mind. It could be that high schools just have the wrong approach. If I am recalling the conversation correctly a fact from our class conversation said that even though students do the worksheets on grammar it is not reflected in their writing. I think that school have to more toward grammar in context just as we discussed. The students have to see the practical purpose of what they are doing to understand it. I think you made an excellent point near the end of your post. It seems like colleges and grade schools need to get on the same page. They need to outline expectations. This might help bridge the gap between the skills the students have and the skills that are expected at the college level. This is a interesting post, due to the fact that we had a grammar related class discussion not too long ago. I was suprised to hear that puncuation and grammar ranked high on the list of what college professors looked for. Just as you experienced, my courses have focused more on the content of the writing than on the grammatical aspect. Here at Grand Valley we can attribute that to excellent Writing and English teachers.

My high school experiences led me to believe what the article is stating. I did not work on pucuation and grammar. But I was in the higher level English classes and the focus was different. I know that the lower level classes did those boring worksheet where you added the correct puncuation to a sentence, or you underlined the appositive phrase. I substitute taught just last week and the busy work for the day was four different worksheet with these exact skills in mind.

It could be that high schools just have the wrong approach. If I am recalling the conversation correctly a fact from our class conversation said that even though students do the worksheets on grammar it is not reflected in their writing. I think that school have to more toward grammar in context just as we discussed. The students have to see the practical purpose of what they are doing to understand it.

I think you made an excellent point near the end of your post. It seems like colleges and grade schools need to get on the same page. They need to outline expectations. This might help bridge the gap between the skills the students have and the skills that are expected at the college level.

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by Comment Trails « Particles of Spirit http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-22 Comment Trails « Particles of Spirit Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:45:07 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-22 [...] :Megan: Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) [...] [...] :Megan: Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) [...]

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by spiritparticles http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-17 spiritparticles Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:15:13 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-17 Hi Megan, Interesting post. Oh, is that a fragment? Well, I don't care because in got my point across, right? I'm one of those who have little confidence when it comes to punctuation. But how important is it really? I think I can write coherently. People tell me all the time, "you have a gift." My question is, can I use my gift if I haven't mastered the use of a semi-colon or comma? Thankfully, throughout my college career I've been lucky. For the most part, I've had professors who focused on content, and were happy to correct my comma errors. I've only had one professor who was so obsessed with my mistakes she completely missed the content. I got a D+ in ENG 102, took it again with another professor and got an A-. I also get confused because even professors opinions on punctuation can vary. If usage changes from person to person, how the hell am I supposed be 100 or even 95% correct all of the time? good post. Hi Megan,

Interesting post. Oh, is that a fragment? Well, I don’t care because in got my point across, right? I’m one of those who have little confidence when it comes to punctuation. But how important is it really? I think I can write coherently. People tell me all the time, “you have a gift.” My question is, can I use my gift if I haven’t mastered the use of a semi-colon or comma? Thankfully, throughout my college career I’ve been lucky. For the most part, I’ve had professors who focused on content, and were happy to correct my comma errors. I’ve only had one professor who was so obsessed with my mistakes she completely missed the content. I got a D+ in ENG 102, took it again with another professor and got an A-. I also get confused because even professors opinions on punctuation can vary. If usage changes from person to person, how the hell am I supposed be 100 or even 95% correct all of the time?

good post.

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by See, I DO Care What Other People Think - My Comments « …and i’ll find me a soapbox where i can shout it http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-16 See, I DO Care What Other People Think - My Comments « …and i’ll find me a soapbox where i can shout it Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:17:06 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-16 [...] http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/ [...] [...] http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/ [...]

]]> Comment on Do You Know Your Punctuation (insert question mark here) by boundtoreact http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-15 boundtoreact Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:08:54 +0000 http://roersm.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/10/#comment-15 There is only one thing that I have learned about how to teach grammar in high school - no one agrees on anything. There are those who want to take less focus off of it in high school to encourage student writing, and we are then left with college students who apparently don't know how to punctuate at the end of a sentence. Or you have the grammar freaks who drill their students with grammatical rules who go to college knowing what it means to split an infinitive, yet are incapable of writing anything interesting. Obviously we probably need to find some middle ground here. I like how your article contrasts high school and college, something that is not looked at enough in my opinion. I think a little more teamwork between between the two could be a good thing. Like you said, ideally preparing students for tests that help them get into college would ensure they were prepared - I guess it just depends on the test. Nice post. Chris There is only one thing that I have learned about how to teach grammar in high school – no one agrees on anything. There are those who want to take less focus off of it in high school to encourage student writing, and we are then left with college students who apparently don’t know how to punctuate at the end of a sentence. Or you have the grammar freaks who drill their students with grammatical rules who go to college knowing what it means to split an infinitive, yet are incapable of writing anything interesting. Obviously we probably need to find some middle ground here. I like how your article contrasts high school and college, something that is not looked at enough in my opinion. I think a little more teamwork between between the two could be a good thing. Like you said, ideally preparing students for tests that help them get into college would ensure they were prepared – I guess it just depends on the test. Nice post.

Chris

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