How can this problem be solved?

[spunkycat08]

How can this problem be solved?

I see this at several different forums I am a member of.

And it sad and frustrating to see this happening.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/millennials-cant-write-because-texting-writing-cj-wilson

 

[Grace-Like-Rain]

I learned and honed my writing and spelling skills from reading books. I wonder if the lack of writing skills by people in any generation might be due to not reading enough quality material.

 

[seoulsearch]

The last time I did any "heavy" writing in which everything was required to be absolutely perfect was when I was working on a Master's Thesis... in 1999.

While no one would guess it from reading my posts now (because my mind fills in the typos with corrections as I reread, so I often miss them), writing used to be my very best subject, with professors often writing very positive comments on my papers.

However, when I left school, I took a job in which the majority of the work was using a computer program that required entering numbers. The only spelling and grammar you had to worry about was entering the names of products, and I did that for 13 years. There was literally no need for any writing other than that, though I have always been an avid reader.

The only way I've maintained any form of written communication skills is through personal letters (starting when I was 9 years old and continuing throughout my life.) For nearly a decade of my adult life, the bulk of the letters I exchanged were with prison inmates, so during that time I learned to read a wide variety of shorthand communication styles. It's amazing to see the different kinds of variety there can be in written communication. But for my own personal reasons, I felt that the communication, rather than "correction" of style or mistakes was most important. I never corrected their grammar or writing styles unless they specifically asked for help (some were taking classes and earnestly wanted to know.)

In my adult career, I've had little to no need for the use of any formal writing skills, and just the other day I had to look up the spelling of a word that used to be no problem for me but it's been so long since I've used it, I wanted to make sure.

Unless people regularly engage in situations that require "proper" spelling and grammar (and are corrected when they make mistakes), it seems like a very easy skill to lose.

A good portion of the reading material today also contributes to the problem. I once read an article about the construction of a button-down shirt, and I was floored by the fact that the author had spelled the "yoke" (of the shirt) "y-o-l-k."

Even in my last sentence, I'm not always sure about the "proper" placement of the punctuation vs. the apostrophes (." or ".), and I wouldn't even know where I could go to find a truly RELIABLE answer.

What's even more confusing today is that many times, what was once thought of as a verbal or grammatical "faux pas"... now has its own entry in the dictionary.

 

[Siberian_Khatru]

I learned and honed my writing and spelling skills from reading books. I wonder if the lack of writing skills by people in any generation might be due to not reading enough quality material.

Seriously... millennials, as we're calling them, seldom read as a recreational pastime. Reading has become more of a chore, a requirement, or an assignment than an pleasure.

 

[spunkycat08]

Seriously... millennials, as we're calling them, seldom read as a recreational pastime. Reading has become more of a chore, a requirement, or an assignment than an pleasure.

I have to be in the mood to read.

 

[seoulsearch]

One of the inmates I wrote was an especially interesting person.

At the time I wrote him, he was in his 40's and had been in prison most of his adult life. During that time, he claimed to have read over 10,000 books and could write just as eloquently as any accomplished writer you can think of. Ironically, he was especially gifted in the area of law.

The man's own lawyer told me that had it not been for this inmate's conviction, he would have made an extremely gifted--and formidable--lawyer.

Unfortunately, I'm not one who can learn from books alone (I need a teacher), but I'm always amazed by people who are completely self-taught, just by reading.

 

[Willie-T]

I recently read a 1972 edition of this original 1940's book, "How to Read a Book."
How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading (A Touchstone book): Mortimer J. Adler, Charles Van Doren: 0042516291251: Amazon.com: Books

It seems that even way back then, students were being graduated from every level of school with almost no ability to truly know how to read. This probably isn't anything new, just being seen differently. Even universities just don't seem to teach reading.

 

[seoulsearch]

I also have to wonder what will become of written communication in the future.

For the people coming up in the next generations, writing, and therefore, grammar and spelling, are becoming less important. Cursive writing has already gone the way of cassette tapes and VCR's.

I could be wrong, but I personally am predicting a future in which people like myself who are from a "former generation" will need to learn to adapt to their style of communication rather than the other way around.

A regular poster here who is a teacher once wrote about writing comments on her student's papers, but none of them paid attention. She came up with the idea of adding hashtags (#) to her comments, giving them a Twitter-like format (and something that her students could relate to), and suddenly her students were excitedly talking to each other about the comments they had received.

She ended her post with #StayRelevant.

I have to say, I thought this was #Brilliant.

 

[Willie-T]

I also have to wonder what will become of written communication in the future.

For the people coming up in the next generations, writing, and therefore, grammar and spelling, are becoming less important. Cursive writing has already gone the way of cassette tapes and VCR's.

I could be wrong, but I personally am predicting a future in which people like myself who are from a "former generation" will need to learn to adapt to their style of communication rather than the other way around.

A regular poster here who is a teacher once wrote about writing comments on her student's papers, but none of them paid attention. She came up with the idea of adding hashtags (#) to her comments, giving them a Twitter-like format (and something that her students could relate to), and suddenly her students were excitedly talking to each other about the comments they had received.

She ended her post with #StayRelevant.

I have to say, I thought this was #Brilliant.

That's pretty smart.

 

[Siberian_Khatru]

I have to be in the mood to read.

Okay...
10characters

 

[Grace-Like-Rain]

Seriously... millennials, as we're calling them, seldom read as a recreational pastime. Reading has become more of a chore, a requirement, or an assignment than an pleasure.

Yeah, it's kind of sad...

I have two millennials. One of them LOVES to read and devours books like nobody's business. She's an excellent writer. The other does not enjoy reading at all, but she still manages to write well for school papers and essays.

 

[Shouryu]

The solution has always been simple.

People who do not generally like to read were not, during their formative years, anyhow, given the opportunities to read about things that interested them.

Students in my part of the country would much rather be reading about soccer stars or the skateboarding scene. The problem is that there is very little reading material on such subjects available at an appropriate reading level: specifically grades 1-5. If a love for reading can be fostered during these years, then it seems to not feel like a chore or work in later years.

Reading must be practiced every day at these early ages as well, and that one issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids will only last two days. Parents must be willing to spend on books. It also goes a LONG way when parents are willing to sit with their children and read together; in the K-6 years, children (in general) are still very much all about pleasing adults, and if they see an adult in their home who reads often, and wants to read with them, it establishes positive attitudes about reading into the child.

There is only so much that can be done in the classroom, unfortunately. It is incredibly difficult to find reading material for a second grader that will be exciting and intriguing to all 25 students in the room; invariably, some students will be bored by some of the material nearly all the time. This is why personal reading matters so much more, and why reading curriculums encourage "free reading time," in order to encourage the students to read about the things they enjoy. Unfortunately, the lack of diverse reading materials readily available to students in that desperate 4th and 5th grade level (when most basic children's books cease to hold deep interest), combined with a lack of support at home (we know that parents are busy, but 10 minutes before bed maybe, couldn't you just make that a daily thing?), teachers are already fighting an uphill battle.

As has already been mentioned, good writing boils down to having been exposed to good reading. It has nothing to do with intelligence or desire. It's a skill that, like most, is learned by exposure and mimicry. Children learn fundamental athletic and artistic skills by mimicking an accomplished model, whether it's Stephen Curry or Arturo Sandoval. Good writing starts with lots of good reading.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I blame video games, and Obama of course..

 

[zeroturbulence]

Here's how romeo and juliet would read today...

Olde version:

"Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?"


Today's version:

"Dude, where you at???!!"

 

[Tintin]

I have no love for Shakespeare, as his works were forced on me in high school. But I love reading, and I'm mildly dyslexic.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I have no love for Shakespeare, as his works were forced on me in high school. But I love reading, and I'm mildly dyslexic.

Ugh I hated shakespeare in high school too! But then during my senior year they showed us the movie romeo and juliet (the 1968 version) and I developed a huge crush on olivia hussey (juliet). Made me appreciate shakespeare a little more...

 

[coby]

Here's how romeo and juliet would read today...

Olde version:

"Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?"


Today's version:

"Dude, where you at???!!"

View attachment 145390

Romeo: You wot m8?

 

[Dino246]

As I was reading the article, I found several errors of poor English. One is a grammatical error ("another writer that disagreed" which should be "another writer who disagreed"). Another is an error in flux; that is, it formerly was considered an error and is becoming increasingly accepted, even though precision of meaning is reduced ("time honored" instead of "time-honored"). I'll overlook the American spelling and the obvious typographical error ("LOSE the ability read a complete book"). What of the uncertain nuance of "real deep thinking"? Does the writer mean, "really deep thinking" (an unfortunate idiom) or "deep thinking which is genuine"? If the former, then the writer has used an adjective instead of the appropriate adverb. If the latter, then the writer could easily have found a more precise set of words to convey the intended meaning.

I must take with a grain of salt an article that decries the diminishing quality of written language which itself is lacking in a few places. After all, my writing isn't perfect either.

 

[seoulsearch]

As I was reading the article, I found several errors of poor English. One is a grammatical error ("another writer that disagreed" which should be "another writer who disagreed"). Another is an error in flux; that is, it formerly was considered an error and is becoming increasingly accepted, even though precision of meaning is reduced ("time honored" instead of "time-honored"). I'll overlook the American spelling and the obvious typographical error ("LOSE the ability read a complete book"). What of the uncertain nuance of "real deep thinking"? Does the writer mean, "really deep thinking" (an unfortunate idiom) or "deep thinking which is genuine"? If the former, then the writer has used an adjective instead of the appropriate adverb. If the latter, then the writer could easily have found a more precise set of words to convey the intended meaning.

I must take with a grain of salt an article that decries the diminishing quality of written language which itself is lacking in a few places. After all, my writing isn't perfect either.

This is one of those times when one wishes they could like a post more than once.

It drives me crazy that even the self-appointed "experts" on grammar and spelling (like the ones in the article) make a myriad of errors themselves while condemning others for supposedly not being as "proficient" as they are.

Or at least... as much as they THINK they are.

(I know, I know... I'm sure I probably didn't even word or structure that last thought correctly but hey, what better way to make a point. )

 

[JeniBean]

I buy my kids books all the time. They both love to read and hold them. I really would save money with they would do a Nook, however they prefer to have an actual book. Their writing skills are top notch. And have always read above their grade levels. That being said I am the mom that creates Summer reading, journal writing, science projects, math, etc. I have noticed a clear difference through the years this has made. I am always telling my kids that knowledge is powerful and that they should soak it all in.