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Grammar optional at UW-Tacoma

Posted by $ blarman 4 years, 8 months ago to Education
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One more off my list of universities I will allow my kids to consider. What utter lunacy and this guy is the director of their writing center!


All Comments

  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 4 years, 8 months ago
    Grading a students writing, "promoted white language supremacy." Sounds like a good thing to me!
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  • Posted by LibertyBelle 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    What do you mean when you say, "Half a C"? 50 years? All three of those are valid, of course. I think that when language was invented (and it may have been invented more than once, in different places), it may have started as a combination of the first two.
    (An inarticulate cry or howl may not have been a word, at first; then, later, when one got the ideas of "offensiveness" or other such things, it may have turned into a sort of curse, or swear word.)
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  • Posted by LibertyBelle 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    In music, it is the melody, harmony, and yes, rhythm, which are important---not so much the words. But often operatic records come with translations, which one can read while they are playing. (And though this may not be the listener's main motive, it is a good way to pick up the language, too.)
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  • Posted by Lucky 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes, an Irish chap, Catholic probably. He did good work, but was always too busy when I was looking.
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  • Posted by $ 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Agreed on the opera. If you don't speak Italian, they're a complete mystery. Does no good to listen to words one can not understand.
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  • Posted by bobsprinkle 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    About 20 years ago, I kind of "fell into" a hobby of collecting vinyl record albums as I attended garage sales and estate sales. I accumulated over 8000 albums. My initial passion was 60's rock. Then, while looking thru possible purchases I saw other records that prompted a "I wonder what this is like" response. Many of those purchases were a great surprise. I loved 'em. Several favorites include Dinah Washington Duke Ellington and Albert King. Dinah sang some beautiful late night melodies. Albert played and sang great Blues. The Duke speaks for himself. Some of my purchases were bulk. This included one genre that I just cannot get into. Opera. If I have no idea what the lyrics are saying, I just cannot get into it. I have maybe 100 or so opera albums that anyone can have. You must pay shipping. They are Heeeavy.
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  • Posted by Lucky 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    LibertyBelle half a C ago I came across this for the functions of language-
    1. Communication- conveying ideas, instructions and thoughts to others
    2. Problem solving- as you said, getting thoughts in order
    3. Emotional relief- what you say after hitting your thumb with a hammer and when hurling bad language at others
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  • Posted by $ 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Sure. But "doublethinkfaroutinleftfield" really isn't thinking - except to them. It requires no actual cognition which recognizes that outcomes are just as important as intent...
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  • Posted by $ 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    All you have to do is say that you spent twenty hours on a two-page paper to get an "A"...

    While really much of what you did was plagiarize from the Internet...
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  • Posted by $ nickursis 4 years, 8 months ago
    Really? "They hired a professor to teach other professors to grade students based on their “labor” rather than their writing ability. " Uh, I think Heinlein killed that whole idea in Starship Troopers when he discussed "value" and said "that a bad chef could take wholesome dough and apples, already having value, and turn it into an inedible mess, value zero, while another chef could create a confection of great value". Ergo, you could put all the effort in the world into writing and still produce gibberish, but by these idiots standards get an "A" for trying, and yet someone who is correct and accurate, might get a "C" because of their perceived "effort". How would they measure such? By the number of words? The number of mistakes?. Might as well graduate with a participation diploma......
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  • Posted by exceller 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Of course it does.

    Beatles, Foreigner, Beach Boys, The Eagles, just to name a few.

    Don't make the mistake to compare it to classical music. It is a different genre.
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  • Posted by Dobrien 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    A sharp disciplined mind considered as cool. What if it was an aspirational goal . Those with conscious mindful actions become rollmodels.
    Who is John Galt ? Hmmm.
    Go Reardon Go Francisco Go Dagney
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  • Posted by Russpilot 4 years, 8 months ago
    So dis mean I are gettin' credit fo axin' dem perfessers quarstions?
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  • Posted by LibertyBelle 4 years, 8 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I think that the prime function of language is to get one's own thoughts in order. Communication is also useful.
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