Is it really too much to ask?

 Is it Really Too Much to ask?

 

Why can’t editors and journalists use grammatically correct language?  For that matter why can’t children write a correct five sentence paragraph that is grammatically correct and follows the rules of clear language.  “The days of rain in western Europe has caused major flooding”.   NO, the subject of that sentence is “days” and it is plural, thereby, requiring the plural verb such “have”.  This sentence was spoken by a journalist for NPR.  This is truly fake news.  Food and Wine magazine had a similarly egregious headline in its last issue.  "The next generation of spice companies are delivering better tasting spices while disrupting an outmoded industry"  Evidently the author does not know that the subject of that headline sentence is generation  NOT spice makers.  

Years ago a Maryland State Superintendent of schools announced the creation of a BASIC curriculum for Maryland school children.  That still hasn’t happened.  

Before we keep adding more math classes and more advanced math and science courses how about we institute a truly BASIC curriculum.

All students would be required to use grammatically correct language in their speaking and writing.  In doing so they would need to learn not just the rules of grammatically correct English, but how to write and speak in a manner that is clear and precise.  As the lyrics in “Why Can’t the English Teach Their Children how to Speak” from the musical, “My Fair Lady” cries out “in America they haven’t spoken it for years”.  

Before we go on to teaching higher order math, how about teaching kids how to read credit card conditions.  People are paying 25% revolving interest on credit cards that dramatically increases what they are paying for what they buy.  It would be good to teach children how to read the fine print in advertising and understanding that things that are too good to be true usually are.  Not all two-fer deals are a deal.  It is not always cost-effective to buy the bigger size.  These are practical everyday skills that students need before they need to plot a graph.

Emails are regularly sent to encourage donations for causes that are not within the realm of change.  Children need to be taught how to evaluate a request for donations.  AND they need to learn how the government works before they decide what is wrong with it.  Most native-born Americans could not pass the citizenship test that immigrants need to pass to become citizens.   That situation is a failure of our schools.  

All of the improvements to education are just fine.  But like a house, education should be built on a firm foundation and we haven’t begun to do that.  Is that really too much to ask?