But what on earth makes you think k-12 students haven't been taught to
capitalize the first letter of a sentence? This is a basic convention of
writing. K-12 teachers get practically anal about this kind of thing, which
may be why some students seem so bent on not using such conventions as
capitalization. Ask a first or second grade teacher if he or she doesn't
cover this extensively. We cannot assume that just because students don't
capitalize means they can't.
And besides, these conventions aren't really issues of grammar. Grammar
deals with structure, doesn't it? Not minding your manners on paper?
Nancy
At 02:10 PM 2/15/01 -0600, you wrote:
>The problem is not so much with spoken English, but with written English,
>and it seems to me there is a big difference between mastering speaking and
>mastering writing. High school students often have not even mastered the
>art of beginning sentences with capital letters and ending them with periods
>(the conventions of English), much less the finer points of the language.
>You DO have to be taught how to write in your own and in second languages.
>It does not come naturally.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Richard Veit, UNCW English Department [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 3:10 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Deep thoughts
>
>
>At 01:29 PM 02/15/2001 -0600, David D Mulroy wrote:
>>...Is there any other field where you can supposedly excel while referring
>>to the tools of your trade as whatchamacallits?
>
>Professional athletes do pretty well without knowing the names of the
>muscles they use, nor without a conscious understanding of how they
>coordinate various muscles to do what they do. Language is one of many
>skills that rely on unconscious knowledge, like running or jumping. An
>athlete may gain some advantage by studying physiology, and a speaker may
>gain some advantage by studying grammar, but many others do just fine
>without that conscious knowledge.
>
>Dick Veit
>
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>
Nancy G. Patterson
Portland Middle School, English Dept. Chair
Portland, MI 48875
"The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumberable centers of
culture."
--Roland Barthes
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