When my mother - a survivor of NYC Catholic schools during the 1950's - had to write papers for school, only 85% of the grade was about the content (grammar, spelling, and relevance of her theme). The other 15% was form: keeping her margins even on unruled paper, having neat penmanship, not leaving blots with her fountain pen, and/or making sure her i's were dotted on center and her t's crossed perfectly straight.

This, the nuns informed her, was because "only God was perfect". Therefore, she was never going to receive a 100% grade on her papers (did I also mention she had numerical averages instead of letter grades on her report cards?).

So to get any type of decent grade, that 85% was as grammatically correct as she could make it; misspelled words were not an option.

In this situation, excessive !'s probably would have meant she was marked off a few points on her content grade as unnecessary punctuation. And then, if she didn't form them correctly, she'd lose another point per imperfect exclamation point.

If that general rule was in effect for e-mails, I think that would make you think twice before using !'s too often. (Though how that would work, I don't know - maybe you get points off for an animated emoticon-ridden automatic signature....)

Besides, e-mails and messaging are more permanent than most people think - ask any politician in the middle of a scandal to tell you just how permanent they are...

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH 21ST CENTURY EMAILS?????!!!!!

It means that no one seems to put any thought into what they write now, because:

1. formatting options have become more numerous and easier to create (ever use a manual typewriter?), and
2. there really doesn't seem to be much consequence for not expressing yourself well in e-mail.
   

My mother had to think long and hard about what she wrote, using "The Elements of Style" as her guide. (see Wikipedia) She taught me those habits, and was actually a harsher critic of my writing during my K-12 years than any of my teachers.

She also learned how to express her joy or surprise or similar emotions through vocabulary and grammar, instead of just using multiple exclamation points and capital letters. This basic writing technique is actually considered more "polite" in a 21st century e-mail.

Basically, e-mail or a message board post you typed on your computer keyboard is still considered the written word - even if you never print it out. Just because it takes less time and energy to compose correspondence - and it lives in the ephemera of the Internet - doesn't mean we need to treat it with less respect.

A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't take the time to write it down in a formal business letter, then you probably shouldn't put it in an e-mail. I realize message board posting is different and less formal, but that doesn't mean you have to completely abandon all elements of good writing.

And as I mentioned originally - e-mails and message board posts are just as persistent as written words. More so, probably, with backups and Google caching....

they abbreviate to do more typing in a faster method. when you are texting and don't have a regularly set keyboard, or if you have to pay extra per word, you find other ways to be expressive other than pretty verbiage. that said, i agree that we have become extremely lazy in our thought, vocabulary and writing styles.

the 1950s catholic school system made me what I am today - it is responsible for much of my professional success and personal strength - it taught me SELF DISCIPLINE - attention to detail - respect - and an appreciation for learning and it instilled in me a tremendous faith that has served me WELL during my life - those who knock it - need to look again

one more thought - I am NOT a survivor of the catholic school system - I am a proud product of it

I am NOT a survivor of the catholic school system - I am a proud product of it

As am I. The nuns and laywomen who taught me were amongst the most literate people I've encountered.

My mother had to think long and hard about what she wrote, using "The Elements of Style" as her guide. She taught me those habits, and was actually a harsher critic of my writing during my K-12 years than any of my teachers.

We've homeschooled our kids for nearly 20 years. We've used Strunk and White's Elements since the beginning. All of our kids' college professors have commented on their fine written expression.

She also learned how to express her joy or surprise or similar emotions through vocabulary and grammar, instead of just using multiple exclamation points and capital letters. This basic writing technique is actually considered more "polite" in a 21st century e-mail.

Worse even, than the capital letters and ubiquitous exclamation points, are those damned blinky, blushing, smiley faces. Why use words or any written expression, such as punctuation, when you can perform a lyrical dance or mime via email?

THE real question is did the 1950s catholic school system survive your MOTHER. I resent the slur on this system - it is responsible for alot of my professional and personal success in life and the PALMER PEN method of handwriting taught in the NYC catholic schools at the time is beautiful and cannot be duplicated today - so stop blaming the schools -your mother should be grateful for the training she recieved. ENOUGH

Some interesting points of 'educating' literacy. Two hundred years ago, reding riting rithmethic were minimum essentials for individual participating in the order of society. The idea of parochial schools was not new. Public schooling was new in most part. The colonial public school concept was to allow the majority of children the opportunity to evaluate for themselves, individualism, the purpose of life. Catholic schooling began long before this time but had limitations to ones participation.

A slow, well though out representation of thought was essential for discussion beyond the confines of village. This slowness allowed in depth thought. Diversity in conclusion.

Email in brief was a system to communicate rapidly without confines of grammar or sentence structure. All participants in this new form, with subject matter equality, had the benefit of teletype speed without the mechanical hindrances. Kind of like the use of telegraph communication but at significantly faster production briefness.

Those that received the disciplined writing education skill of past, have a significant advantage in creating nice looking documents. I enjoy these writings, but have not mastered the skill. The twenty-first century is about high speed drive-by no dust gathered communicating.

Look at a Congressional bill of 1850 and compare it to the current T.A.R.P.-troubled asset bill of today's Congress. Full of grammatical (parliamentary) niceties. Clarity is next to zero. Congressional constitutional power is zero. Writing skill of renowned university graduates is superb. Effectiveness is clearly lacking (or is it intentional?).

George Washington's writings may show the lack of complete and proper writing. The use of short-hand abbreviations with a known communicator (letters) is common in his writing. Some spelling errors may have been intentional for brevity's sake. The time to keep a quill 'fresh' and the ink well full or paper expenses tended to create shortcuts in everyday writing.

Um, first, saying "survivor" instead of "product" - my joke, really, not my mother's. She is similarly proud of the education and learned discipline she received at their hands.

And I'm not exactly "knocking it" if you didn't notice. I'm damn proud of the education she passed onto me.

Hello!

With all due respect to your Mother, I hope that you are relaying the story correctly.

I am a Roman Catholice who attended Catholic school, this was not the way it was at all. We were graded period. Whatever, you put into something, is what you (each one os us will get out of it).

In the Great State of Pennsylvania, there was no such verbiage giving by the good Sisters as to "only God is perfect." in regards to test taking. I was very blessed to be taught an excellent curriculum while attending Catholic school and, the cursive method of writing was a plus.

I believe that many need to move on with such minor issues. I stand firm in saying that I am blessed to be a Roman Catholice. Life is too short to be concerned about minor issues. Be concerned about a the Freedom of Choice Act, that the new President is in favor of. Abortion

Respectfully,

Respectfully....

*big, heavy, sigh*

My god, Slate, can we please just close this thread down? Is no one ever allowed to mine their childhood (or those of their parents) for life examples with a touch of humor? And let's be clear about this: I am not criticizing the quality of a Catholic School education - I am praising it. I benefit from it indirectly every day, so I say, Halleluia.

Now....my mother has - repeatedly - told us the story about how "only God is perfect" in respect to their education. (She also tells stories about how the nuns shooed kids out of chapel while praying for good grades on tests and projects instead of doing the work - God gave them free will to achieve.) My uncle tells the same stories, and he was one year behind her in the same school. Perhaps it's the difference between NYC and Pennsylvania, I don't know.

It was not meant as a punishment, it was used as a tool to help them strive for academic excellence. I couldn't even make that story up if I tried, because I find it a wee bit o' crazy, so please don't imply that I'm lying about my mother. And personally, I'd love to have that type of clear handwriting. My school system didn't focus on penmanship and I wish they had - I type 100+wpm because I must. My non-block-printing handwriting is so bad, there are days I can barely read it, and it's because my schooling didn't place an emphasis on a clear writing hand.

Now, perhaps your RC education was warm and blessed and gentle. My mother's, not so much. She values her education, but she also tells stories about how every time she used her then-dominant left hand, it was rapped repeatedly with a ruler. Because it was "the devil's hand", and she must not use it for writing or other daily tasks. She had to learn to use her right hand under threat of corporal punishment. (When she moved onto a public high school for her last years of schooling, the teachers there had to help her readjust to a less regimented system of learning.) So if she occasionally has a dark take on her education, there are reasons.

If one takes the time to read the uncorrected collections of the founding fathers' writings available in good libraries, one finds that those men could not spell worth a crap. Some of them had poor grammar too, even though all of them were well-read by standards then and now.

Do you think they got the intellectual tools they needed to remake the world being taught grammar and spelling by 18th Century schoolroom fascists?

Content matters and should matter in school too.

If modern learning science has proved anything, it is that people learn in different ways. Beating he knuckles of kids for makings sloppy "f" and "u"s might have worked for some, but it probably crippled those who did not learn under that method but could have learned under another--and whom might have been best equipped to provide content in maturity if the educational system hadn't expunged their desire. Recognizing that is what makes schools modern.

Jesus H. Christ! I am so tired of people who say the way to go forward is to go backward.

Issywise:

If one takes the time to read the uncorrected collections of the founding fathers' writings available in good libraries, one finds that those men could not spell worth a crap. Some of them had poor grammar too, even though all of them were well-read by standards then and now.

Do you think they got the intellectual tools they needed to remake the world being taught grammar and spelling by 18th Century schoolroom fascists?

Um, except that the English language - as spoken and written in the US - during the late 1700's isn't the same English language we speak today, despite both being considered "Modern" English.

The consolidation of US English vocabulary spelling didn't really start until the early-mid 1800's or so - several decades before the penning of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution/Bill of Rights. Emphasis on enforcing uniform grammar started around the same time. Hence the founding fathers not being able to consistently spell worth a crap or write with correct grammar - because they didn't have consistent spelling and grammar.

Today, however, we do have such standards, though I admit they are fairly screwed up compared to many other languages across the globe. Yet you can still see spelling and grammar as inconsistent as in, well, the late 1700's. It's ridiculous.

Get what you're saying - new stuff should be incorporated in schools and not all traditions are good. I agree. And I sure as hell don't agree with the knuckle-rapping/illogical threat part of education - not a way to encourage learning.

But today, educators seem more concerned that everyone express themselves freely (and that they get A's so the helicopter parents don't descend and complain about the ruining of their child's self esteem), so they don't enforce fundamentals.

That is a bit of a problem - I've been asked by managers to edit the 20-something recent college graduates who can't seem to put together a simple e-mail, let alone a proposal or white paper. (I'm generally convinced placement companies or services write resumes and cover letters for a lot of people now.)

I have to tell these college educated individuals things like:

• "a sentence generally has a subject-verb pair and creates a complete thought"
  
• "it's spelled out as 'Thank you', not 'thx' "
• "sentences generally aren't the length of one page, so you need to use punctuation and paragraph breaks"
  
• "it's spelled definitely, not definately"
  
• "There usually indicates a place, their indicates possession, they're is a contraction of 'they are' and is your subject-verb pair in a sentence."
  
• "please use standard sentence case - all lowercase or all uppercase letters is not acceptable simply because 'holding down the shift key is a pain in the butt' "
  

I wish I could say I was exaggerating, but I'm not - these are quotes of real discussions I have had with these young adults in order to edit their professional correspondence with clients. Because the clients complained about the quality of the unedited version - apparently some people still value correct grammar and spelling.

I would just like to see educators stress grammatical and spelling basics. Perhaps looking backwards isn't always the best thing, but I see my parents and grandparents (the latter of whom all loved to write me letters in college) writing in clear, correct, easy to understand English. Perhaps something should be learned from that time of education and expanded upon, if not used in strictly the same way.

hmmm - my bulleted list disappeared somewhere near the end there. Thanks Slate...