Today I visited some of my favorite teachers from high school, and it was shocking what they had to say about the kids they have in their classrooms today. One of my teachers confessed that their new students do not know how to write, and how it has been difficult to teach them the essential skills they need to move forward. This particular teacher blamed technology.
Another remarked that none of their students are dating anymore and that the idea seems to be obsolete. This teacher also criticized technology and the change in ideology. I think the generational shifts we are seeing in writing, reading, and even romantic ideals are fascinating.
Technology is wonderful and it makes so many lives easier and improves the overall quality of life; however, it does so at the expense of many basic skills in writing and communication.
In Catholic school, you learn cursive, phonics, and extensive lists of vocabulary combined with a variety of reading skills. The idea that cursive is a necessary tool for learning to read and write has drastically declined, which is absurd. Even the New York Department of Education states, "evidence reveals an advantage for handwriting using pen and paper over keyboarding for students in grades 2 to 6 for amount written, rate of word writing, and number of ideas expressed.”
Cursive also helps students retain more information because their pencils are never lifted from the page as they write in script. I once had a teacher in high school who dutifully enforced writing in cursive for everything from in-class notes to homework assignments. This routine has stuck with me in college when I write my in-class notes, and it does, in fact, help me retain more information.
The larger emphasis that is placed on reading and writing skills at the younger grade levels becomes critical when these students enter high school and college. You cannot learn to write overnight; rather, it is a process that requires a strong foundation at an early age.
Today, more than ever, we need strong writers. In an age of political uncertainty, it is appalling to read peoples' opinions splattered across the internet with incomplete sentences and incorrect spelling. The amount of people reading the newspaper has dwindled as well, which is significant when you consider that writing skills improve along with a higher reading proficiency.
The number of bookstores present has also decreased, with the closing of Borders--a giant book and music store from the late 2000s. With a larger importance placed on technology instead of books, the newer generations are not exposed to the same rigorous training in reading and writing. How can they be when their iPads read aloud to them at night instead of their parents?
The SAT also recently reorganized their test to dispose of the critical essay section in which a persuasive essay written by hand was required. This is interesting because it was the one true section of the test that allowed the grader to see the student's ability to organize their thoughts in a limited amount of time and to hear their voice. In another aspect as well, essay writing is extremely important in college, as many classes assign a variety of papers throughout the semester, so why does the entryway test to college no longer include an essay sample?
In an ever-changing world, opinion is a constant, but one thing everyone must know for certain is that the ability to read and write is crucial. The ability to express oneself coherently through words will always be a highly valued skill, especially in the day and age when people lazily give into spellcheck to fix every essay and email they send out. Excellent writing comes from a foundation in phonics, reading, and extensive writing practice, especially in cursive. Opinion pieces and groundbreaking journalism have always been based on excellent writing skills that can, and have, changed the world.
