October 11, 2006
Victoria pushes for texting school subject
The move to teach text messaging in some Victorian high schools has sparked more acrimony between state and federal education minsters. ABCnet.au reports.
"The text-messaging unit is an option in the English curriculum for Victorian students in years eight to 10.
Students translate and write short messaging service or SMS texts and develop a glossary of SMS abbreviations. They also compare the structures of SMS messages with those found in formal English.
But Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop isn't impressed with text messaging being a unit in Victorian English classes.
She's urging a return to basics and was horrified by recent reports that PhD students in Queensland are needing to take remedial English classes.
But Professor of English at the University of Melbourne John Frow says there is merit in SMS English classes but it depends on how they're being taught."
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