I just gave you an example. Ya know, the whole thing you quoted me on about the NCO performance evaluation and getting promoted thing, that is a real world example of how it would help you. You don't have to believe me, you will see when you get there.

Yes, that was an example. But how is that even related to your job? I don't see the relevance. Why teach people something in school that they aren't going to use? I don't see how knowing what a noun is (or any part of speech) would help you be a better NCO.

 

Yes, that was an example. But how is that even related to your job? I don't see the relevance. Why teach people something in school that they aren't going to use? I don't see how knowing what a noun is (or any part of speech) would help you be a better NCO.

I understand your point, as I'm witnessing it right now when I sit at school. Not sure when I'd ever need to use Trigonometry, or know that the word "Should" is a verb.

According to the Program for International Student Assessment, the average reading literacy score for U.S. fifteen-year old students is 498 (out of 1000 possible points). That is enough to make the United States rank twenty-fourth out of sixty-five educational systems ranked in that category. Shangai, China, ranked first, with a score of 570. I've noticed in the u.s we have this big test called the STAAR test, in my school or in other words here in Texas in order for you to get that high school diploma, you HAVE to pass the following STAAR tests:

1. Algerbra 1

2. English 1

3. Biology

4. English 2

5. U.s history

I've known kids who have taken the English 2 test 3 times and still fail, 'sigh'. This number was 250+ kids.

Yes, that was an example. But how is that even related to your job? I don't see the relevance. Why teach people something in school that they aren't going to use? I don't see how knowing what a noun is (or any part of speech) would help you be a better NCO.

Because if you write an evaluation and it is all screwed up because you don't know proper grammar then it makes you look stupid. Also you will have to write reports of some kind as part of your job (doesn't matter if you are infantry, you will more than likely write something at some point), this is especially true in my career field because we write reports and put briefings together all the time so if you are not able to write a proper sentence and make your products look professional then nobody is going to see you as a professional soldier.

Edited September 16, 201411 yr by l3ubba

Because if you write an evaluation and it is all screwed up because you don't know proper grammar then it makes you look stupid. Also you will have to write reports of some kind as part of your job (doesn't matter if you are infantry, you will more than likely write something at some point), this is especially true in my career field because we write reports and put briefings together all the time so if you are not able to write a proper sentence and make your products look professional then nobody is going to see you as a professional soldier.

My point is, when I write a sentence, I don't have to think about where the noun goes. It just flows. Now in composition, we learn vocabulary and how to write paragraphs. Now that is something that will help me in life, writing papers and such.

My point is, when I write a sentence, I don't have to think about where the noun goes. It just flows. Now in composition, we learn vocabulary and how to write paragraphs. Now that is something that will help me in life, writing papers and such.

And according to actual proper linguistics (i.e. not what is learned in high school), that's true basically by definition -- seriously, a good working definition of the syntax of a language is what feels right to native speakers, and a mistake is only a mistake if native speakers view it as one (which roughly means they think it sounds wrong). If you go with what sounds right to you as a native speaker, and don't see anything wrong with a sentence, then that sentence is perfectly correct within your personal dialect of English; if the sentence sounds right to all speakers of a particular dialect, it is correct within that dialect.

My point is, when I write a sentence, I don't have to think about where the noun goes. It just flows. Now in composition, we learn vocabulary and how to write paragraphs. Now that is something that will help me in life, writing papers and such.

Yes, but I've seen many people write a fucked up sentence and they thought it sounded right. If you have a basic idea of how to construct a sentence then there are fewer chances of you sounding stupid. Like I said before you don't have to believe me if you don't want to, I am telling you because as someone who has to write reports and build other products on a regular basis it is something I have experienced first hand. And anyone here who wants to go into law enforcement better know how to write as well because your reports will get picked apart by lawyers and I know plenty of officers who have had their reports criticized by lawyers due to grammatical errors.

 

And according to actual proper linguistics (i.e. not what is learned in high school), that's true basically by definition -- seriously, a good working definition of the syntax of a language is what feels right to native speakers, and a mistake is only a mistake if native speakers view it as one (which roughly means they think it sounds wrong). If you go with what sounds right to you as a native speaker, and don't see anything wrong with a sentence, then that sentence is perfectly correct within your personal dialect of English; if the sentence sounds right to all speakers of a particular dialect, it is correct within that dialect.

Again, what feels right to the native speaker isn't always the correct way to write a sentence. I see screwed up sentences all the time, but if the person who wrote it felt that it sounded right does that make it a proper sentence?

Actually, to an extent,our education system is flawed. I know other people share these same concerns, but we spend way too much time focusing on our Math and Sciences. As somebody already said, yes you will be using math and science in most career fields. But if you plan on doing accounting, or, hell, a cop, do you really need all those Multivariable Calculus, and Quantum Mechanics classes? Algebra (to maybe a level 2), and a general science and biology suffice. There needs to be more of an effort to teach critical thinking, and the reasoning behind a lot of these "sciences". If you know WHY the Pythagorean theorem works, then using it becomes easier. Being able to think through things for yourself helps you out more than just memorizing what you're being taught. Which, essentially, is all school is. Teachers spoon-feed you knowledge, and you're expected (through repetition) to be able to reproduce it at the drop of a hat.

 

Instead of saying, "Some greek dude spend 20 years of his life playing with numbers and found this out to be mostly true, so therefore you need to learn it.", they should make an effort to explain why it works out that way. I'm not saying that works for everything, but critical thinking is something seriously lacking in the American culture and education system. It's not perfect now, and what I said isn't perfect, but I believe it's a step in the right direction. 

 

Although I agree with English being a major concern. I cringe when people cannot even form a coherent sentence.