Paean to Literacy Put It Perfectly

Joann Byrne is right about we who were taught good grammar becoming a dying breed (Orange County Voices, Jan. 26). Understanding the basics of English grammar was once a prerequisite for any office job, let alone a high-level one. Not so today.

A magazine editor recently returned something I’d submitted with suggestions for revision that contained several sentence structure errors. My one-time boss refused to correct errors in punctuation or sentence structure because that’s how his teachers taught him to write. Because such people are in positions of authority, it’s assumed that what they’ve written is correct. Soon few know the difference. The bell is tolling for a beautiful language.

MARILYN JENSEN

La Habra

* I can’t agree more with Joann Byrne.

Several years ago I did college papers for some students at Cal State Fullerton, Orange Coast College and Chapman College. I was appalled at the type of spelling and English errors that were on these papers.

I was truly amazed that these students got into good colleges--had even graduated from high school--and couldn’t spell, write a complete sentence and have some kind of good grammar. I also work with people with college degrees who can’t spell at all.

Although I am not a college graduate, I can spell better and write a better paragraph or report than they can. I must admit, though, that my children are all excellent in the English language.

I have to tell you that not only have the schools failed somewhere but also the parents for not encouraging reading at home.

ETHEL MULLIN

Orange

* Just because a student is a junior or senior in a four-year college doesn’t mean that person is almost ready for the real world. As Joann Byrne wrote, “Many grads today are functionally illiterate.”

When I taught an upper-division course in “Principles of Public Relations” at San Jose State University, I was amazed at the poor spelling, haphazardly constructed sentences and ignorance of the meaning of common words.

These were journalism and advertising majors, with a few PR majors, and a scattering of folks in the business, radio and TV fields. Because this was an evening class, I should have known that many of the students would not be inspired. Student X, for example, showed up just before the coffee break each Wednesday night, then disappeared until the following week’s class. Some weeks he didn’t show at all.

Student Y wrote, “As president of this well-respected company for over 100 years . . .” Student Z told me, “I’m an advertising major so I don’t have to know how to spell . . . “ Student Q asked, “Why should I be marked down in spelling? I learned to spell phonetically.” And Student W, an expert geographer, put Louisiana on the East Coast.

Student V, who hadn’t turned in any written assignments during the semester, showed up at the final exam and asked if she could turn in some of the papers the following week. I asked her why she had missed so many classes and assignments. She said she had some surgery and couldn’t reach me. (My business phone number was listed in the class handouts.)

The capper for me was when I turned the last two sessions into a series of oral quizzes to help prepare them for the finals. The first night about 50% turned up. The second night, just 25%.

Several of my Orange County friends in PR agencies wonder just how much longer they can afford to retrain college grads in writing, spelling and the basics of English and composition.

RICHARD L. HARMON

San Juan Capistrano