Re: MINDSET LIST® FOR THE CLASS OF 2009

George wrote:
"jo4hn" <jo4hn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:slGPe.15436$1g2.6655@xxxxxxxxxxx

J Brown wrote:


I've been complaining about this list all day to anybody who would listen, so hear goes: I've seen this in previous years, and it always drives me nuts ... I think the idea is, "What can you reasonably expect from people who have experienced so little?" But I think you *can* reasonably expect them to know something about history. I know WW II happened, though I wasn't around for it. Not having lived through it (or anything--pick your historical event or cultural phenomenon) is no excuse.

Ah. Zen and the use of the English Language. Your grump does strike a chord. I have always been one of those cranks who tries to nudge others into a correct (my judgement) usage of the language. My father, for example, taught me that "you can be hung or you can be hanged; one is good, the other is bad".
humph,


It's about common culture. You can't use the English you use with people of your generation with the current, because they have a different background.

Metaphors and similes are based on some form of shared understanding. Can't use them with people who do not have the basis for understanding, which makes teaching difficult. Normally, when there are blank looks out there in class, you switch to a different analogy to try and make the connection.for them. Easier in the sciences, where demonstrations or re-creation of classical experiments can be used to demonstrate a truth than in English Literature classes with kids who never learned their Bible. Can't explain the thought without understanding the metaphor, can't teach the metaphor without offending some nitwit. Can't teach US History without mentioning all those dead white guys, because there just weren't a lot of decisions made, battles fought, or treaties made by black (excuse me African American) women.

That's what the list is meant to convey, a warning that so much that is second nature through real or vicarious experience (learning) to the professors is meaningless to the student.




George:


Very articulate and concise. Well put and all that. I always enjoy your posts.

I got a kick out of the original post because I have had the experience where someone younger did not have the experience -- and so an analogy or reference was wasted or did not work...




--
Will R.
Jewel Boxes and Wood Art
http://woodwork.pmccl.com
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” George Bernard Shaw
.

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