An article in my local school district’s newsletter written by a fifth grade ELA class about a presentation by a retired teacher from the district contained this startling fact:
“Haiti is an island located in the Pacific Ocean, east of Florida.”
Haiti shares an Atlantic Ocean island with the Dominican Republic.
Whatever else a writing teacher does, he or she should not allow students to get away with such blatant factual errors. Accuracy in writing should extend to more than correct placement of commas.