TΦ101 is not a fan of those who bash h.s. English teachers, who often do a great job under difficult conditions not of their own making. However, TΦ101 also believes that the task of teaching high school writing creates some dysfunctions in writing, especially of good students.  Specifically it teaches students to write longer, more convoluted (but grammatically correct essays) with big words.  The motto appears to be: "plethora" yes, "many" no.  An article on robo-grading tells us a lot about how students are taught to write and how they actually write.