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The newly illiterate

By Tim O'Dwyer - posted Tuesday, 12 May 2009


Would class teachers, I asked, need to translate into simple English for students a sentence like this: "As a result of these activities, you will understand the difficulties and challenges of autobiographical writing and in a more formal sense will be able to evaluate the purpose of writing, the sites in which language occurs, the 'stories' that personal experience creates, and the values that emerge from these experiences."

Later this rhetoric changed to a hopeful but, in my opinion, no clearer statement of purpose: "We hope that your growing experience will have taught you that the 'personal sites of language' give a particular message, and that you should by now have some sense of bias/perspective/powers to persuade in written/visual media".

My letter pointed out particular language concerns: for example, tautology ("prior knowledge earlier in the year"), a passive tautological anachronism ("a small note should be appendaged") and much pompous jargon ("a documentation", "formulate notes", "negotiate areas of choice", "social annotations", "posing argument and quotation", "personal associations"). Had this been written for the English Department by an ancient legal draftsman?

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A letter soon arrived in a poorly-addressed anonymous envelope. The Head of English had replied. Authorship of both the overview and the work program was clearly admitted, but the tone was set early: "Our statements seem to be a perennial challenge to you, and at least give you the opportunity of putting pen to paper!" I noted the collective “our”, considered the ominous exclamation mark and winced at an indefensible cliché used by an obviously defensive Head of Department.

This educator, whose appalling language skills I'd criticised, was striking back with more of the same.

But I read on: "The present English Arts Syllabus is embracing very strongly Text-Context and Critical Literacy models and these require a certain number of changes in approach and terminology. Work programs would not be accepted at Moderation meetings if they did not reflect these changes, and a student would be disadvantaged if she were not familiar with these processes." Phew! I promptly decided my mission was doomed. I would pursue it no further. In light of what may have been an implied threat, I felt my child might suffer.

Max Harris, in his crusade against outrageous linguistic crimes, regularly railed against "Ed-speak". He described this as the pretentious jargon" of educators whom he ridiculed for their "excellence in pseudo-scholarly obfuscation". At the same time Harris was disturbed by what he called "the New Illiteracy championed by the contemporary school system".

Has the whole process come full circle? Did I expose not only the reprehensible writing of a teacher of English, but also the successful re-entry into the school system by one of its own newly illiterate?

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About the Author

Tim O’Dwyer is a Queensland Solicitor. See Tim’s real estate writings at: www.australianrealestateblog.com.au.

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