And, if the person could say, “It’s Greek to me,” (which is a cliche’), they already proved they understood the words to a degree. You don’t need to be a Biblical scholar to understand the reference. Even the reference has become somewhat of a cliche in sci-fi circles. The only way I could buy that 5000 people – fishing village or not – didn’t understand “I am the Alpha and Omega,” is if no form of christianity had ever arrived in their village. Then again, given Big J knew the reference, that theory would be hard to flesh out, too.

Critically speaking, this writing example really didn’t work. Nor did posing an exercise like this help me with the very reason I came to this article in the first place. Check out the title. How did reading this help me critically analysis my writing? It taught one thing – don’t use language that doesn’t fit the context. That’s not an article, that’s an eight word sentence, and one I already understood.

It’s hard enough to write well. It’s harder to write well enough to get published. But, when you’re writing to teach other writers something, you’ve set yourself up for even tougher critical analysis. This one failed in both regards – it failed as a lesson in critical analysis, and the example given to analysis failed. Not good!

I did not intend to imply that teachers are unable or unwilling to teach students to be proficient in writing — far from it; I consider teaching to be the noblest of professions, and the teaching of reading and writing (regardless of language) to be the most vital task our schools can possibly undertake. My diatribe was aimed more at the educational system that devalues critical topics like literacy and skill with words in favor of ‘junk classes’ and attempting to inculcate values and gray-area relativistic morality into our children. (I am quite capable of teaching my kids what is right and wrong, thank you Washington, and frankly your version of it stinks like a skunk in a deep fryer.) Being a tool of those who would rule us, the educational system is aiding in producing hordes of semi-literate homonculi with the attention span of a chimpanzee on PCP (but by God, Coach, can that kid throw a ball!!) who will be ripe for conquest by the time they’re old enough to graduate. We see the fruits of this today, when many persons under the age of about 35 choose their President with the same level of intelligence and discernment they use in voting for the next American Idol, who haven’t read anything more challenging in the past year than the instructions on a microwave dinner, and who keep clamoring for things that have failed in the past in the hopes that THIS time they’ll work.

As a high school English teacher, I cringe just knowing the majority of students cannot write a decent paragraph, let alone a uniform and concise one. Many people do not realize that although we (teachers) would like to give appropriate time to the writing process, the curriculum doesn’t allow the full process to take place. And…no more researched term papers, just projects!

I’d love to go into the use of calculators as well, but that’s another post, er… entry…I mean, article.

Now the big question: How can we combat the rising tide of aliteracy and literature ennui that threatens to make all writers, poets, and authors obsolete? I’m looking for suggestions…

Secondly, the three minute attention span is not unique to your side of the Atlantic. We have supposedly intelligent politicians (another oxymoron for your attention) who are incapable of understanding, let alone formulating, a lengthy reasoned argument on any subject. Our three year old grandson seems more capable of paying attention for more than three minutes.