So, I am writing this book, "The Perl Database Bible". If you've ever considered doing this, give it some serious thought. Why?
1) Deadlines suck. They actually *expect* you to be on time with everything!
2) Editors suck. Mine recently said now that he's not tied up with a different book, he'll concentrate on mine.. Oh, BTW, he didn't like the writing style - 3/4 of the way through the book I get this! My response, tough shit, let's tweak it a bit, but that is all.
3) It takes WAY more time than you could imagine. I promised myself after my last book that I'd wait until I had most/all of my "next" book written before I'd even contact a publisher.. Well, the contacted me and like a dolt, I said sure....
4) You will NOT make a lot of money from writing a book! Unless you a Steven King or something, don't plan on writing to get rich!
5) English teachers don't know shit! I failed English once back in Jr. or Sr. High. I would love to figure out which teacher had failed me and send them copies of my books....
That is all.
Teachers
chaoticset on 2002-04-16T16:57:40
There's a reason most teachers teach, and it isn't because they're "Dedicated To The Future", it's because they "Couldn't Hack The Present", IMHO.
English Teachers
koschei on 2002-04-19T16:13:44
Actually, good English teachers know quite a bit. The problem is in communicating what they know.
I know that sounds a bit peculiar, so I'll explain.
They'd probably love to teach you about the language, about how lovely it is, particularly when you get to grammar and such like, but most curriculums (usually set by schools boards rather than by teachers or individual schools) are (and have for a while) favoured a more light weight approach that means that if the people can read (at least one word a minute) and write (spelling is optional) then the teacher has done a good job.
Then you have the fun, particularly in High School, of trying to teach English to a bunch of people who don't particularly care for being taught. They believe they're good enough because it's their native language and they grew up using it. Even if a few want to learn, they're generally held back because the teacher can't concentrate on them separately from the ones that don't want to learn. Not unless the classes are streamed and that's becoming increasingly rare from various schools I've looked at. Streamed classes are usually a joy. Parents and Friends associations get uppity though because their precious child is being treated like the unwilling person they are while these others are elevated to a god-like status.
All fun and games.
English at university level is much more entertaining, simply because the lecturer has students who
want to learn. So we can cover syntax, grammar, expression, linguistics and all that jazz.
High school is not the place to learn English.
Anyway - that's my rant for the day. Ill-informed, poorly phrased, and written simply because the server that collects my mail isn't working and is in a different country and thus I have time to spare.
Re:English Teachers
chaoticset on 2002-04-21T04:37:31
It doesn't sound peculiar at all.
First -- couldn't this be said of *blank* teachers? That a good *blank* teacher knows quite a bit? I had a history teacher in HS who knew his shit -- Civil War reenactor to boot -- and, because of a poorly structured educational system, was unable to present interesting material in any form.
The problem isn't because of the people who know quite a bit. The problem is because of the educational system being filled with a lot of people who don't know much at all.
I didn't learn English in HS, that's why I can speak it properly. :)
Re:English Teachers
koschei on 2002-04-21T12:21:56
More a case of a teacher of a method of communication not being necessarily able to communicate. =)
A really good *blank* teacher can work around the course limitations, but damn that's a lot of effort.
