Commentary
Back in April 2021, I observed: “The sad reality is that many Australians cannot properly spell, write, or read” and that this malaise is compounded by an inability to correctly apply the rules of grammar. I also noted that “very few students are exposed to the great books of Western civilisation but instead are required to read inferior works that meet the expectations of our progressive elites.”
Many opinion pieces have been published about the declining English teaching standards in primary schools, high schools, and universities.
In a revealing essay, Barry Spurr, Australia’s first professor of poetry, talks about the “vicious circle in the teaching of English.” For him, the discernible deterioration in the mastery of the English language is caused by the poor teaching of English at university, which, in turn, results in the deficient teaching of this subject in primary schools and high schools….