A look at many Facebook pages or web comments will leave the educated person baffled and disgusted today. While shorthand has become more commonplace, there becomes a point where it becomes to be too much. We have gone from an acceptable “U” for you (to save time when texting) to full-out incorrect comments like, “I don’t never have nothing 2 do wit it,” and misspellings of simple five-letter words that a fourth-grader should be able to spell. While I don’t claim to be the expert on everything in English language, I’m left wondering how many of these people are able to graduate high school if they can’t form a proper sentence. Standards for graduating students should be raised or at least kept standard, not lowered. Has the new generation of teenagers and young adults gotten lazy, or are they just less educated? Who is to blame – the students – or parents and teachers?
A wide number of teachers and administrators are certainly giving their profession no help with its image. In April 2011, for example, the Indiana Department of Education sent out a memo stating that schools would no longer be requiring cursive writing to be taught (Huffington Post). The majority of other states has preceded or is following Indiana in this standard. While technology certainly limits the need for cursive writing, it is still used in signing documents, including wills and personal checks. How can we expect students to be able to be able to properly sign documents later in their life if they are never taught?
Perhaps before they reach the age to need to use cursive writing, written signatures will no longer be required. It’s hard to say at this point as technology certainly changes things rapidly. Perhaps in the future, school districts will no longer require students to use pen or paper or to learn how to write at all. If technology changes and it eliminates this need for writing, does this harm children or is it irrelevant? It’s hard to say at this point. “The skill of handwriting is a dying art. Everything isn’t handwritten anymore,” East Allen County Schools Superintendent Karyle Green told the Associated Press in support of the changes (Huffington Post).
The increased focus on typing, however, leads to students relying more on spell-check to fix their errors. However, there is no spell-check on paper or in every program that a person will use. Nor is there spell-check on the SAT high-school students must do well on to get into college. If a child is not learning proper spelling on their own, spell-check is definitely not going to teach them. A word is often instantly replaced when misspelled; there is no teaching lesson.
Another alarming practice was brought to light in early October 2011 regarding New York schools. Students are being given graduation credits even when failing and not completing the work. According to an unnamed teacher in the district, students may skip class or not do homework but they can still get credit by doing a multiple-choice test, for example (Fox News). They are being awarded the same privileges of students who actually show up and do their work. In addition, students who received a final grade of 60 to 64 will have their grade automatically rounded to a passing 65. The schools, which are currently being audited by the city’s Department of Education, are failing to require students to do what should be expected of them. In the real world, there is no multiple-choice test to avoid being written up or fired for not showing up to work or slacking off.
An “A” grade in earlier years might not be the same as an “A” today. However, are New York schools doing anything different than other schools that pass out extra credit? Extra credit, when limited, can be beneficial if students are still learning, but not if it replaces following direction and working hard.
Parents definitely have a hand in helping their children learn and be successful in life. The necessity for two working parents over the years has definitely lessened the time parents have to spend with children, but definitely not eliminated that time. Parents can help children by reading to them frequently, keeping up-to-date with their progress in school, and being as active as possible. Teachers who have a class with several children with behavioral problems (or other problems due to lack of parenting) have to spend valuable time on fixing these problems instead of teaching. These children shouldn’t be forgotten, of course, but parents should step up to help the situation.
Web speak is not the same as speaking verbally. However, when writing, the problems can roll over. Just because someone can’t spell properly doesn’t mean they are incapable of learning or are stupid. However, bad spelling and grammar does present a person negatively to potential employers or colleges. Cover letters and resumes full of errors are likely to be tossed and not read. Jobs are no longer relying on interviews and resumes, either. Many employers have looked at applicants’ social network profiles, as well. It’s time to focus on educating our children better.
RESOURCES
“Indiana Schools No Longer Required to Teach Cursive,” Emmeline Zhao. Huffington Post.
“New York School’s Rules Give Failing Kids Credits Toward Graduation,” New York Post/Fox News.