"Read each sentence or poem. Mark an X on the word or words that need to be capitalized. Then write the sentence correctly on another sheet of paper."
"Writing it again is a waste of time."
This exchange took place in a Canadian school in the 21st century.
Worthwhile Canadian Initiative 
Andrew, I too have a math degree. I think that if the beauty of math enchants you then the failure of schools to teach math seems tragic. When I tell people that I studied math they often report that they are bad at math or don’t like it. I usually respond that they might have liked it more if they had been taught better and get a tale of woe. I hear about angry, inpatient teachers, difficult explanations, being rushed through material. Anyone interested in better math teaching should check out the story of John Mighton and JUMP math.
This rings true to me. My HS was very focused on writing short essays. Our final exams senior year were marathon writing sessions with scant time. I did well… Still I got to college and quickly discovered my writing was not very good. Some critical marks from the instructor helped but so did seeing the work of some of the better students.
There is still a certain halting quality to my writing today but I eventually learned to focus more on the rhetoric and less on accuracy. The professors loved those papers. Sure, I had supporting evidence, but I would never regard my arguments as staying within the bounds of what could be known.
Then again, most public policy essays don’t seem to stay within the bounds of he known either…
Did anyone notice that question 16 is factually incorrect? Mercury was the Roman name of the Greek god Hermes.
Robillard – I didn’t! Perhaps the worksheet is just a really really subtle way of imparting critical thinking skills?