About

Why Teach English?

These are some basic reasons:

• It exercises the same brain muscles people will use to solve major problems in work, higher education, and life. Post-mortems on the 1912 loss of more than 1500 lives on the Titanic, the 1987 Challenger disaster that disheartened a whole nation, the nearly-fatal 1970 Apollo 13 explosion, and the build-up to 9/11 all trace many causes, but without exception, they attribute the catastrophes to a failure of the imagination.
• Writing empowers the writer.
• Computers now multiply the number of resources available to writers exponentially, making writing an adventure.
• Looking at the relationship between people, text, and electronic media offers the chance to harness all three to the service of improving the quality of one's public and private life. 
• Writing provides the motivation to stay upright and keep going when life's trails/trials get rough.
• The journey itself is an eminently worthwhile destination.
• It is the language used in business around the world, aviation, and in the world's leading country
• These reasons offered by the Partnership of English Majors (PoEM) headed by Garrison Keillor may be read and/or heard when you click on the link:
  • We [English majors] may not all be successful, but it sure seems like it.
  • English majors see more and feel more and love more because they have more words for what they see and feel and love.
  • English majors have all the qualities others value - intelligence, curiosity, a sense of adventure, and excellent punctuation.
  • As an English major, one is naturally in a good mood most of the time.
  • Other majors offer you superficial skills but an English major opens up the landscape of the human heart

Updated 8/28/06 by Maria Garcia -- - HyperclassHotmail.com

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