Sunday, February 20, 2011

Liberal Arts for Broadcasters and College Professors

I just heard a broadcaster complain that she had taken courses in her field in college (communications, political science) but missed taking classes in the liberal arts.  What a shame.  Liberal arts classes ought to be required.  I suspect that a good grounding in the liberal arts would make her a better broadcaster for one simple reason:  her grammar would be better.  It often requires two hands to count the number of subject/object errors made by this particular online hostess in a single one hour broadcast.  Local columnists in our print media make the same error as frequently.  Are there no grammar books?  Are there no copy editors?

Perhaps a class in grammar, specifically, should be required for those majoring in communications and journalism. Now that the SAT includes a writing component (I hear that many colleges don't consider this section) grammatical weaknesses ought to be obvious to colleges, and ought to be addressed immediately.



Speaking of colleges, this same radio program interviewed a college professor who also struggled with grammar as he was speaking.  He, too, complained that he had not been required to study the liberal arts.  His errors made me reconsider sending my child to that college.  Are my standards too high, or should all college professors, no matter the field, be required to have mastered basic English grammar?

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