...his training is subpar and I find it subpar that an educator would not have a full understanding of the importance of clear communication in speaking, reading, and writing. To me that's irresponsible. I know exactly what you mean about many of those analytical types not having the "best" skills. However, when preparing young people to go into their future (which will likely include post high school work), not only an engineers or his standard, the job of teachers is to prepare students for their advanced potentials.
Grammar is not important in many types of social conversation. And "poor" grammar is not a reflection of stupidity. My best example is two guys talking about, "Did you see movie X?" I've witnessed it where a wide array of ideas was communicated with grunts, shrugs, uh-huhs, and "ya knows." That is passable in that situation, all fine. Not important. But to say that we do not need to expect proper language in learning and academics is wrong. The highest possible level of literacy is what we need to aim for. In my book, "educators" are not allowed to misunderstand that mission. Good science teachers and all teachers MUST CARE. Who knows who will be the next Carl Sagan?
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