Again, I feel compelled to talk about why educators are wrong when they try to teach writing. Tonight, it is because they tell you not to use the phrase "very happy". Short version: If you are ever told to never do something in writing, that person is probably wrong.
The idea of the lesson is good: There are so many synonyms that can express that feeling: joyful, ecstatic, pleased, etc. To say you were "very happy" takes two of the most common (and therefore bland) words to make a common (and therefore boring) phrase. People are better off with larger vocabularies, and exercising them will allow us to understand and appreciate the differences between our synonyms.
The problem is that by telling students that it is bad to say "very" or "happy" does not add to our vocabulary; it removes two words we could have used. Words are tools. Sometimes you aren't ecstatic or joyful, nor are you merely pleased. Sometimes, you are very happy and there is no better way to describe that feeling. So use the best phrase, and do it knowing that it is the best phrase to use.
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Do you have a personal experience with this?
ReplyDeleteWhy yes I do. Just a few days ago, I was composing a message to a friend mentioning that I was very happy to hang out with them. And as soon as I wrote it, my instant reaction was, "Very happy? Really? You can't do better than that?"
ReplyDeleteSo as I am searching for a better phrase, and finding that none of them expressed the feeling that I wanted, I realized that, in fact, I couldn't do better than "very happy" because it was the best phrase to use.
I mean, did you have an educator use this as a lesson?
ReplyDeletePretty much every "Language Arts" teacher I had in middle school, and my teachers in 4th and 5th grade all would tell me and my classmates not to use "very" in my essays.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. It was frightening to attend college with aspiring teachers, realizing that these would be the folks in charge of the next generation.
ReplyDeleteI'll drink to that! (I will also homeschool my children to that.)
ReplyDelete