Posted on 02/21/2014 5:24:09 PM PST by Zeneta
Why Can’t College Students Write Anymore?
Is it just me, or are student competencies like basic writing skills in serious peril today? Granted, I am about a decade in to my teaching career, but even within this fairly short span, I have noticed a startling decline in the quality of written work turned in by my students, regardless of which institution (community college, private, four year school) the papers are coming from.
It’s not just that students aren’t demonstrating critical thinking skills in their writing, basic competencies like proper syntax, spelling, and even proper structure like paragraph indentation and how to cite sources are being done very poorly. Teachers have been reporting anecdotally that even compared to five years ago, many are seeing declines in vocabulary, grammar, writing, and analysis (e.g. Westin, 2013; Bloomberg News, 2012). Moreover, on an international scale, our standards in literacy is similarly on the decline (McGuire, 2014).
There are only so many times you can correct a “their” that is meant to denote “there” before wondering, when was the last time this college student’s writing abilities were actually assessed? As a psychology professor, I am starting to feel like an English instructor, because so much of my feedback on these papers is focusing on such basic writing skills, that the coherency or theoretical merit behind the content is getting lost in the shuffle.
Snip
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-first-impression/201402/why-can-t-college-students-write-anymore
(Excerpt) Read more at psychologytoday.com ...
Bingo!
When you read you pick up things without even realizing it. They should do a test on these students for reading comprehension.
The key to writing correctly is writing that is corrected. Starting in the sixth grade, the pupil should be required to hand write a 150 word essay every day, with the length of the essay increased at every grade level. If a word is misspelled, or there is a grammatical error, the error should be pointed out and the pupil required to find the correct word, then re-write the essay with the error corrected. This forces the pupil to look up any words or grammatical constructions he is not completely sure of.
Yes. I was taught that to learn to write I needed to read. And read a lot. Who reads anymore?
It's the yeast you can do for them.
Unless, of course, all they want to do is loaf around.
I knew that would get a rise out of you...
Q: What did the dough sing to the baker?
A: "As long as he kneads me..."
A little rye humor never hurt anyone.
” Please understand”
?????
LOL
Understand whut???
I have no idea what they are saying half the time and it’s pathetic this high skrewel dropout gives lessons on writing for business and accounting practices for sales....
Well, I tested out of high school @ 15 and went to college but, them peeps iz idjuts .....
Thur Bare Lee Smawtuh than my phone....
And my phone is wicked smawt ....
Sad to say, this professor who ostensibly is teaching college students does not have top-notch writing skills himself. Subject-verb disagreement and ending sentences with a preposition are just a couple of the mistakes I see. Each generation of teachers teaches the next, and they get worse and worse over time.
Just for more giggles, ask a kid which is smallest
a. .19
b. .090
c. .009
d. .0091
For some strange reason about 20% or more will get it wrong and tell you, “Everything works backwards to the right of the decimal.” Whatever that means.
/johnny
You seem to be the first person on this thread that has understood the issue.
Madness.
Yes, but why ?
Why is the left so at ease with their own contradictions and hypocrisy ?
I suggest that they have been conditioned to embrace uncertainty. Objectively, I see a culture that ridicules certainty, unless it is “their” certainty of uncertainty.
I know it may seem crazy. I’ve watched, listen and studied them. I’ve lived with and debated with them.
They have built their foundation of knowledge on “uncertainty”.
These are their “scientific leaders” in academia.
Watch.
Listen.
No Science, No Logic and No Morality: Atheism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxz84kS8k4U
No, the rot started before texting. College writing programs are hotbeds of political correctness and leftist sentimentality. They actively teach bad writing in the name of having an “authentic voice”, and spend more time on writing autobiographical anecdotes and opinion pieces (the latter graded mostly on how politically correct they opinions expressed are, and how “authentic” the “voice” is, rather than on things valued by the oppressive whitemale heteronormative society like grammar, pronunciation or sound rhetoric) than on writing scholarly essays with proper formal style and textual apparatus.
It’s considered raaacist to insist on proper English.
bfl
They do not read and when asked to write a paper all most do is cut and paste. They are very good at plagiarism
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
On the positive side, maybe I won’t be forced out of the workforce in 20 years when I’m unable to retire. This old geezer will look pretty good compared to the illiterates we’re producing.
I suggest you take 13 minutes out of your life to gain a better understanding of our enemy.
No Science, No Logic and No Morality: Atheism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxz84kS8k4U
“The distinction between the metaphysical and the man-made is not merely unknown to this mentality, it is incommunicable.”
From your link.
Nice.
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