Do you feel that older/secondary students have a poorer grasp of the written word than say 15-20 years ago?

Question

As a secondary educator...I've seen the written language go downhill in answers to questions from my students...The spelling is terrible/too many computer abbreviations/poor handwritting/lack of sentence structure or flow of thoughts....etc..Do others feel the same way or if you are an employer: Do you see this same lack of command of the written language hindering your employees and your productivity?
I'm curious and hope others have noticed the same things.....or am I being picky.....

You guys are all great! I am not alone....I am just running my thoughts out of my mind faster than I type.....I am a university professor and feel much of the work is is "dumbed down" for students in some classes and everyone seems to have excuses for their inadequate work. I've had a few good ones over the years.......

Answer 1

You are so right!

I have been on this board for less than 3 months and I find it hard to believe how many questions and answers have such poor grammar and spelling. I never was a good speller so I always run spell check. If the answer is long I cut and paste it in MS Word so I can get a grammar check as well.

I also think that the information taught in grade school is dumbed down. The Army used to let people who hadn’t finished High School in, they don’t any more. Those people aren’t smart enough to go through Basic Training. It was a big shock for me when I went to college. I had a few college prep courses, but I never realized that being a college student is more like being employed in a professional job. When I returned to school years later, with this attitude, I did a lot better. I am sure that now days the shock for High School Graduates is even greater. In fact if you haven’t had at least one advanced class then you aren’t qualified to go to a four year University. You shouldn’t be accepted to a major school until you have proved that you can handle the work. How are the admission standards at your school?
Jay Leno has a routine that he does on the Tonight Show called Jay Walking and I am surprised that he is able to find so many idiots, willing to show they are stupid on camera. He even found a Junior High School Teacher who couldn’t answer a question from a second grade test.

One person from Homeland Security was checking the screeners. He had a driver’s license from Montana, and the airport screener asked if Montana was in the United States.

I think that the education standard is going downhill. Now days with video games, the Internet, and all the distractions students don’t want to take the time to really learn. They want it now and if you don’t give it to them fast enough they move on to something else.

The English Language is one of the most complex and difficult languages to learn or speak. Its spelling rules are a bit insane, but English is quickly becoming a world language. It is the most descriptive and technical language and it can handle new words very well. The computer came fast and quickly, and it defeated a few people who were trying to use it in their language. The word for Disk in Dutch and many other languages is Disk, and it is pronounced the “American Way.” Only the French came up with a totally new word Disque.

There are a lot of advantages to English, but to use them you have to communicate properly and a big part of that is speaking the words properly and spelling them properly.

I know that if I used the spelling and grammar errors I see on the Yahoo Answers board then I would fail most English courses from when I was in school (I graduated High School in 1977).

Answer 2

I would like to go to the defense of my peers but I have noticed a lot of the things that you have noticed. Spelling is atrocious as people use spell check but do not check the context in which their word is placed. Poor handwriting has always occurred and as a person who writes with chicken scratch, I don't think it's solely because of the advent of the computer. There is less use of cursive from the work that I have seen. There is also a lot less interest in literature as every year we get fewer submissions of written pieces. I don't see many computer abbreviations in work but it is logical considering the rampant proliferation of instant messaging. The language used in these services can carry over into normal speech.

Answer 3

As a 17 year military veteran who supervises 17-25 year olds, as well as being a college student myself, I believe that the written and spoken language skills of this age group has slipped terribly. Not that I think my generation was as good as the one 15-20 years before mine, but with the advent of the internet and "spell check", students and young employees tend to be rather lazy when it comes to grammar and spelling. The fact that many of them tend to spell phonetically or use internet speak while writing formal documents is even more unnerving.

Answer 4

"handwritting"? Yes, I agree that the spelling is horrible. Hmmm, I wonder where they get it from? ;-)

But all kidding aside, the skill level has indeed dropped to a new low, just look at a sampling of the questions and answers on this board to see the results. And people wonder why graduates in other countries are surpassing our graduates in marketable skills.

Answer 5

I agree with you. I've always been a spelling whiz, so anyone that spells poorly, I hate it. I think its just laziness. I think the teachers now a days are alot smarter and brighter coming right out of college because of the schools higher standards, so I don't think its the teachers fault.

Answer 6

student intellectual ability in all areas started going down when the "education elite" stopped teaching how to read, write, add, subtract etc. i read a school math book once and didn't even know what the dots were for. kids dson't read, they watch, they don't write cuz they cant read, they cant do math cuz they don't know what a number is. they learn to be stupid.

Answer 7

I agree! I just started my 16th year of teaching, and I definitely think my students' skill are far below those of the students I taught my first year of two!

Answer 8

Pops, what's up with the ellipses? That hardly seems like proper punctuation.

Answer 9

Yes, I also agree...
I also notice it to my classmates..
maybe they don't care..