Thank you Cynthia. I have been planning to respond to this misinformation, too. Maybe not all --perhaps not even most -- of us teach MLA style to our high school kids, but many of us do. I even know of some districts in my state (CT) that teach it to middle schoolers (probably a better age to learn stuff like this). We consider consistent formatting an important skill.
 
Don't give us a bad rap (rep?) because some of your kids didn't seem to learn MLA (I chose the words 'seem to' with serious deliberateness). Some teach what students quickly forget or stop using. 
 
There is not a clear history that this skill has been consistently taught on the university level, either. I, for one, had to teach it to myself when I went back to school for my MA in English because it wasn't taught to me as an undergraduate. This is not an endictment of my wonderful English professor, who still is a respected, professional writer. I received much from him that goes far beyond mechanical skills. MLA is good to learn, but good writing is perhaps a higher priority.
 
At any rate, I force my high school kids to use MLA for any academic papers they write for me, and I include format points in any grading rubrics. There's no guarantee, however, that they will take this skill with them after they leave my classroom.
 
Respecting all teachers,
 
Paul E. Doniger

Cynthia Baird <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I cannot seem to find the original post to this topic, but I must reply for the sake of the many high school English teachers out there.
 
I don't know about everyone else, but I am deeply offended by the condescending attitude these posts have toward high school English teachers.  Perhaps it's me, or perhaps it's my area of the country (south central Colo.) but I most definitely have heard of MLA style--how do you think I graduated from college with not only a bachelor's but also a master's? I not only know MLA but also APA and Chicago, and AP (I was a free-lance journalist for several years).  I most certainly teach documentation styles to my college-prep seniors, and they thank me profusely for such teaching.  Writing becomes one of their easiest college tasks.
 
We do not all teach formulaic writing--I know full well that the thesis does not need to appear in a certain spot and there is no set ! number of sentences in a paragraph.
 
I have to wonder how much time some of you college professors have spent in today's classrooms--perhaps if you visited us more you would mend any disconnect you imagine.  I love English--it is my passion--and I would not for a minute think of underteaching my students.
 
By the way, I write as often as I can, mostly newspaper articles and letters to the editor in major newspapers.  I would love to write more, but the hours of a public school teacher prohibit such interests--maybe you would understand if you knew more about what we do.

Bev Sims <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Just interested in where you get your facts. In my! area we all teach the MLA style and many of us writers.
 
 
Alison: I think your experience is the rule rather than the exception. The 
people I have taught with in public schools appear never to have heard of 
MLA style, so, of course, they do not teach it. They have these formalaic 
rules, such as how many sentences go in a paragraph, how many paragraphs 
make an essay, where the thesis statement goes (like you indicated), etc. I 
find it all tedious and counterproductive...writing should be fun, creative, 
ongoing, and across the curriculum. Unfortunately, most public school 
teachers write very little; and when they do, it is stylized and 
uninteresting if not downright poorly executed. Helene


  Bev Sims
9th Pre-AP 
Bremerton, WA 
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ 





---------------------------------
Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" 
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/