Report: Uh, it's like student writing is bad

CNN ^ | 25APR03 | AP

[Gefreiter]

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Ask high school juniors to write a paragraph about a haunted house, and nearly half are unable to do so satisfactorily.

That's because writing has been neglected in school reform, according to a report by the National Commission on Writing in America's Schools and Colleges. So, students finish high school without the ability to write in a sophisticated, precise or engaging fashion, the commission says.

[Future Snake Eater]

He uses no punctuation, doesn't capitalize proper names or at the beginning of sentences, and uses IM code in place of regular words.

I think you just hit the real problem, right there. These kids get on the internet and every possible rule in the English language that can be broken is utterly demolished. Then they go to school and think that it's all OK to use in formal writing. It's pure laziness, really. My use of the rules of English on AIM is stressed, to be sure, but when I write anything formally, I make sure it's as perfect as it can be. These kids need much more practice.

[So Cal Rocket]

One thing that has always bothered me:

If a word that modifies a verb is an adverb, why is a word that modifies a noun an adjective, instead of an adnoun?

[Sloth]

If I recall correctly, gerunds are verb-like words ending in '-ing' that are being employed as nouns, e.g., "the questioning of the witness."

[Future Snake Eater]

You forgot (gasp!) diagraming sentences! Nooooo! However, doing that exercise over and over and over is what really solidified my knowledge of the parts of speech and their uses.

[Centurion2000]

Nope, but don't forget to include instruction on the proper format, placement and purpose of a thesis in your 5 paragraph argumentative paper.

[Lou L]

Well, you're absolutely correct--I'm not saying that tdadams' nephew couldn't be accepted into college; he shouldn't be, if colleges had any decent standard for upholding acceptance criteria. Sadly, the only criteria for most schools seems to be, 1) are they breathing? 2) can they pay for their tuition?

[Sloth]

The old Johnson house had always been mysterious. It's old fence...

Contraction for "It is old fence..."?

[Xenalyte]

Your ancestor was deemed an ignoramus by a judge? That is PRICELESS!

[Centurion2000]

He is also learning from the spelling and grammar checker built in to MS Word. He is responsible for fixing all spelling and grammar errors prior to asking for help

Another tool to make him more diligent in spelling would be to disable the spelling and grammar check in Word. I do that, so that if I make an error, I HAVE to proofread what I write.

[Stand Watch Listen]

indexing

Here are links to various education threads (also containing numerous helpful links)

FReegards

Demoralized Teachers, Unruly Students, Bureaucracy Top Concerns About Schools
Source: AP Breaking; Published : April 23, 2003; Author: Siobhan McDonough

Red Pencils, Low Marks - How the diversity industry dumbs down American education
Source: WSJ Opinion Journal.com; Published: April 22, 2003; Author: Gary Rosen

Left High and Dry
Source:Lew Rockwell; Published: April 21, 2003; Author: Linda Schrock

Teaching Tomorrow's Teachers: Instructor To The Trustafarian Class
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: April 11, 2003; Author:| Bernard Chapin

How Not to Teach Math
Source: City Journal; Published: 7 March 2003; Author: Matthew Clavel

Government Schools Have U.S. On The Fast Track To Third-World Status
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: March 6, 2003; Author: Bob Ellis

Sodom and Gomorrah University
Source: WorldNetDaily.com: Published: February 19, 2003; Author: Michelle Malkin

The Union That Killed Education
Source: newsmax.com; Published: February. 17, 2003; Author: Paul Craig Roberts

Walter E. Williams: Inferior Education of Black Americans
Source:CNSNews.com; Published: February 05, 2003; Author: Walter E. Williams

Union Fraud Underscores Need for School Vouchers
Source: CNSNEWS.com; Published: February 05, 2003; Author: Linda Chavez

Time for public schools to throw in the towel?
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: January 27, 2003; Author: Dr. Laura Schlessinger

My Classroom From Hell
Source: The Wall Street Journal; Published: January 24, 2003; Author: Joshua Kaplowitz

Can more money make schools better?
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 21, 2003; Author: Phyllis Schlafly

Are public schools constitutional?
Source: NewsWithViews; Published: JANUARY 20, 2003; Auythor: Lynn M. Stuter

The intellectual rape of Oakland's schools
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 17, 2003; Author: David Horowitz

Hip-hop hogwash in the schools (Michelle Malkin)
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 15, 2003; Author: Michelle Malkin

Dumbed Down and Dumber Still
Source: The American Prowler; Published: January 15, 2003; Author: By George Neumayr

Washington's education establishment
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 8, 2003; Author:Walter Williams

NEA Hastens Death of American Education
Source: INSIGHT magazine; Published: January 6, 2003; Author: Ralph de Toledano

White Teachers Fleeing Black Schools
Source: Newsmax; Published:January 1, 2003; Author: Chad Roedemeier

Fiddling whilst Rome burns
Source: TownHall.com; Published: December 26, 2002; Author: Walter Williams

Government School Monopolies Leave Children Behind
Source: Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty; Published: December 4, 2002; Author: Clint Green

The silence of the lambs: McMillan blasts bureaucrats for destroying public education
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: August 15, 2002; Author: Craige McMillan

Taking Charge: Let's Stop Aiding and Abetting Academicians' Folly
Source: HOME EDUCATION magazine; Published: July-August 2002; Author: Larry and Susan Kaseman

’Open Directory’ --Society/Issues/Education/Education_Reform

Deconstructing Public Education
Source: www.newsmax.com; Published: July 26, 2002; Author: Diane Alden

Specious Science In Our Schools
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: July 9, 2002; Author: Alan Caruba

SYMPOSIUM Q: Is the National Education Association Being Fair to Its Religious Objectors?
Source: INSIGHT magazine; Published: June 10, 2002; Authors NO: Stefan Gleason ////\\\\ YES: Bob Chase

Public Sector Subverting Productive Industry
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: May 16, 2002; Author: Henry Pelifian

History of America's Education Part 2: Noah Webster and Early America
Source: Sierra Times; Published: March 27, 2002; Author: April Shenandoah

How Communist is Public Education?
Source: sierratimes.com; Published:March 22, 2002; Author: Chuck Morse

History of America's Education Part 1: Johnny is in trouble
Source: Sierra Times; Published: March 20, 2002; Author: April Shenandoah

Audit rips Georgia schools' curriculum
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Published: March 11, 2002; Author:JAMES SALZER

Why schools fail: Samuel Blumenfeld warns Bush's education legislation is ineffective
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: March 2, 2002; Author: Samuel Blumenfeld

Public School Isn't Like I Remember It
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: February 28, 2002; Author: Phyllis Schlafly

What Is Lacking In Our Educational System
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: February 28, 2002; Author: Ben Cerruti

The charade of education reform
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: February 2, 2002; Author: Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld

American public schools: Working just as designed
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: January 21, 2002; Author: Vox Day

High Schools Fail Thanks To Grade Inflation And Social Promotion
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: December 5, 2001; Author: Vin Suprynowicz

WHY AMERICANS CAN’T READ
Source: Accuracy in Media; Published: December 4, 2001; Author: Reed Irvine and Cliff Kincaid

The Failing Teacher and the Teachers' Code of Silence
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: December 3, 2001; Author: Glenn Sacks

Time for outrage! Linda Bowles reports latest results in America's public schools
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: November 27, 2001; Author: Linda Bowles

Illiterate in Boston: Samuel Blumenfeld explains U.S.'s ongoing reading problem
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: July 20, 2001; Author: Samuel Blumenfeld

NEA - Let our children go!
Source: WorldNet Daily; Published: June 23. 2001; Author: Linda Harvey

COOKING THE BOOKS AT EDUCATION
Source: Accuracy In Media; Published: June 5, 2001; Author: Cliff Kincaid

Why Do Schools Play Games With Students' Minds ?
Source: The Detroit News; Published: April 1, 2001; Author: Thomas Sowell

The Public School Nightmare: Why fix a system designed to destroy individual thought?
Source: http://home.talkcity.com/LibraryDr/patt/homeschl.htm; Author: John Taylor Gatto

Dumbing down teachers
Source: USNews.com; Published: February 21, 2001; Author: John Leo

Free Republic links to education related articles (thread#8)
Source: Free Republic; Published: 3-20-2001; Author: Various

Are children deliberately 'dumbed down' in school? {YES!!!}
Source: World Net Daily; Published: May 13, 2001; Author: Geoff Metcalf {Interview}

Could they really have done it on purpose?
Source: THE LIBERTARIAN; Published: 07/28/2000; Author: Vin Suprynowicz

New Book Explores America's Education Catastrophe
Source: Christian Citizen USA; Published: April 2000; Author: William H. Wild

Deliberately dumbing us down (Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt's, "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America"
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: December 2,1999; Author: Samuel L. Blumenfeld

Deconstructing the Western Mind: Gramscian-Marxist Subversion of Faith and Education
Source: www.petersnet; Published: Winter 1997; Author: Frank Morriss

Littleton Crisis to Government Control

The UN Plan for Your Mental Health

Lexington Institute

NonPartisan Action For a Better Redding

Quality of Education Commentary, Opinion, and Book Reviews

[goodnesswins]

Unfortunately, I didn't sense any "folksy, colloquial tone." I've heard enough of my own grandchild and other children saying "gots" and other incorrect English to know it's standard and NOT corrected by their parents or teachers.....who just do NOT want to hurt their poor little feelings....setting them up, of course for a fall later.

[SAJ]

A gerund is a participial form of a verb used as a noun. The most common gerund is the use of the present participle (-ing), as in 'Jogging is a bore.', but any participle might be employed as a gerund, in conformance with other grammatical considerations.

[Paul Atreides]

I was recently on a forum in which a person kept referring to everyone else as "peeps" (ex: How are all of you peeps doing?). I had to get a friend to tell me the person was talking about. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the other people in the forum didn't like being referred to as a "peep."

[RayBob]

Yeah...I actually have a copy of the record. There were a number of men who raided the Drum Hotel. They were arrested and marched to Philadelphia to stand trial. Some of the older men were convicted. Of the younger men, were talking around 20-23 years of age, some were found not guilty for lack of evidence. My G-G-G-G-GF was not so lucky; they had evidence to convict him and some others. Instead, they were adjudged "Ignoramuses" and deemed to have been under the influence of the older men, therefor not responsible for their illegal acts.

I actually had two ancestors who were Whiskey Rebels, my G-G-G-G-G-GF (the innoramus' father-in-law) was found guilty and fined. He was one of those who was later pardoned by Washington.

[goodnesswins]

LOL....a prominent person posted an article here the other day....and probably used a spell checker....but...didn't proof read well. The article came with "pubic" where it should have been "public." Your suggestion is one ALL should follow.....spell checkers are for a first pass check only, in my rule book!

[goodnesswins]

Thanks....now I remember.

[Xenalyte]

[tdadams]

Well, no offense, but that's a piss poor attitude. Just because he can't see the need for a well crafted paragraph while he's a junior in high school, he should be condemned to a life of no further education and low paying jobs? Give me a break. I'm glad I wasn't around people like you when I was growing up.

[Hodar]

The old Johnson house had always been mysterious. It's old fence......

The apostrophe can be used for the contraction of "it is", but also to show possession such as "Jimmy's bat", in this case "It's old fence". The intention is not to show the plural as in "its all up to you". I think the "it's" form is correct.

[Anamensis]

Our kids are being brainwashed every day in every way in our public schools. Just last week I was observing a class preparing for their ACTs, and the essays they were reading from previous students (as examples) were written on the subject of "the most pressing problem we face in the 21st century." The three problems, in order, were pollution, poverty, and racism. And guess what solutions the students all offered? Oh, you know.