Wow .. thank you for your detailed reply.
First to the part of your comment “Lest I seem like an ogre ….” I smiled when I read that and no, you didn’t. You probably do not know this, but I have
been a bit of a stalker of yours in that, in a whole range of forums, when I
see by Joyce McKnight it is always one of the first posts, comments etc I go to. I have admired you from afar for a while and have actually been inspired by and learnt from you over a number of years … (and that is not sucking up – it is just a fact ..)
Ok and to the substance of your further comment.
Yes. I see what you mean and agree, particularly in the formal learning and assessment mode / course / program.
In the broader informal self-directed learning and interacting ‘world’ I sometimes find myself being a listener, watcher, observer rather than a contributor. This can be because I am time poor (as we all are) or more often because I’m not sure my contribution will be seen as ‘worthy enough’ (?) .. of a high enough standard (?) … contribute something that is meaningful or valuable enough. And so I fall back on the ‘I agree’ comment to show I am here, I’m listening, without having to step out and be seen / heard / possibly judged.
I know this is more about me and my own level of professional confidence rather than the reality of how my or anyone’s contribution is likely to be viewed and responded to.
LOL - just now I am thinking .. you shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition .. - or start a sentence with a conjunction .. BUT ‘bad grammar be dammed’ this response is not for grades and I’ve been told more than once, the way I write is like a ‘stream of consciousness’.
Anyway, the point is, your detailed response got me thinking once again. Thanks for that.
Years and years ago, as an old primary school teacher (so you would think I would have more respect for grammatically correct writing) I always ‘let’ and encouraged the kids to use the word ‘nice’ in first drafts. It was never banned in my room. However, ‘nice’ was never allowed to be the end of the sentence. It had to be followed by ‘because’ or ‘and’ or ‘when’ or ‘but’.
When we went back for our second draft we would revisit the word ‘nice’ and they would decide if it was really needed, added anything or helped.
So, as broad example, the sentence: ‘The sun is nice and ....warms my face.’
became ‘The sun warms my face.’ or even ‘I feel happy when the sun warms my face.’
So what I am thinking is, the ‘I agree’ comment is sort of like the word
‘nice’. For my journey, I am going to always try and never let ‘I agree’ be the end of the sentence, but rather add on … ‘because’, ‘when’, ‘but’ ..
AND when I see a person do a "I agree." type comment, I will tend to say ... I like you agree ... tell me why ... tell me more .. :)
Thanks Joyce. :)