Wow
I'm honoured to be mentioned - even more honoured to hear about my writing being displayed.

In general I wouldn't say that the New Zealand education system puts a larger emphasis on coherency in writing - there's currently a move to allow "text speak" to be used in English exams to allow for the "evolution of the English language". I would say that my writing style and standards come from the fact that I've been an avid reader since I could pick up a book. My house is filled with thousands of books (4783 at last count) and so English has always been a part of my life. Having parents who emphasised the importance of coherency from a young age helped too. I don't think grammar like mine is at all common; in my English class last year (final year English), my classmates were hard-pressed to identify an adverb. Many of them still couldn't understand the difference between "their" and "they're". I've just never been able to stand speaking like an idiot - even when I text I use correct spelling and grammar, I don't abbreviate.

The teachers here in NZ do the best that they can to instill a sense of pride in one's work but there's only so much they can do. It's not a lack of teacher knowledge, it's the fact that students don't see it as an important thing to learn.
(Holy Gabrielle is Holy, Thu 5 Feb 2009, 2:52, Reply)