However, here's a thought. Maybe it's just me, or maybe others out there are thinking the same thing...
If we DO require better writing skills, better comprehension, and speaking the English language in a way that shows that you know how to use words properly, and the people coming through the education system prove that they are INCAPABLE of these things, what then? Yes, it could be the teacher's fault...but what if it isn't?
Please understand...I am NOT talking about dyslexia or a clinical reason. I am talking about kids who come out of a CULTURE of not wanting to learn, reinforced by the actions of both peers and parents. Are we graduating (or passing) people who, for whatever reason, are not capable of proper language skills?
And here's the $64,000 question: What do we DO with those who simply cannot speak, read, or write properly?
(Yes...I am well aware I am wading into dangerous territory.)
I’m from the old school. My female teachers in high school were the best and brightest of their generation because that was one of the best professions that was open to to them in that era.
In my high school English classes, if you had one error in grammar or spelling, your essay was downgraded to a B; two rated a C and so on. Today’s students coming out of high school have never had such rigorous standards imposed on them and bring their terrible writing skills to college with them.
In my college classes from 1999-2005, I couldn’t enforce that standard and keep my job. Today’s students “grade” their teachers and if you are too hard on them by enforcing high standards of performance, then you get bad grades from them.
And this is a problem that will get worse, because many of the students I was teaching had a goal of becoming teachers themselves. So the same students who can’t write now will be teaching the next generation of high school students. It will be a self-reinforcing downward spiral.