Re: OT-ish: txt - Could it replace Standard Written English?

Christophe Grandsire scripsit:

> Well, according to Kendra, all those things are not taught in American
> primary schools anymore. And her school is an "Advanced Level" one... Says
> a lot about the others doesn't it?
Not really.  The important point is to remember that schools are under
local control in the U.S.  This means curriculum, teaching methods,
standards, hiring and firing, and everything else.  Local school districts
(which can be less than, greater than, or equal to a municipality)
have an enormous amount of discretion over these things.  There is a
certain amount of standardization imposed by the individual states,
but just how much varies greatly from state to state as well.

So neither Kendra nor anyone else knows what is and what is not taught
in "American primary schools", because to find that out would take an
enormous survey that nobody has the funds for, and even then there would
be intense difficulties of interpretation due to the lack of standardized
and non-overlapping terminology.

--
John Cowan    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan   <jcowan@...>
    "Any legal document draws most of its meaning from context.  A telegram
    that says 'SELL HUNDRED THOUSAND SHARES IBM SHORT' (only 190 bits in
    5-bit Baudot code plus appropriate headers) is as good a legal document
    as any, even sans digital signature." --me