We are graduating many idiots from our school systems; the fault falls squarely on the backs of our teachers, and the families who do not demand more from their children and our school systems.
When I read written material on the Web, I can pretty much determine who has been taught/has learned correct English. Generally, the age and level of education of the writers can be determined by how they write.
Our school systems have changed to the point that they are becoming a joke. I have scored many high school tests over the past couple years, of kids who are about to graduate, and it is disheartening to see how uneducated these kids are. Many of them cannot do the simplest of math and have no idea how to write. There are many reasons for this, but I believe the biggest problem is teachers cannot, or not allowed to teach these children properly.
Another big problem that I have noticed is the lack of thinking by these children. They are allowed to use calculators today, much more than the older generation was allowed. They punch in a bunch of numbers, while taking exams, and write down an incorrect result, without even considering/thinking about how wrong it is. For example, let's say the question is (to keep it simple): "Add 120 to 60 and divide the result by .07." They speedily hammer the numbers into their calculators and get a result (let's say 200,490,860), which is blatantly incorrect, but instead of thinking about the result, which is obviously ridiculous, they enter the incorrect answer on their exam.
The lack of thinking is a major problem with kids today. This can be attributed mostly to poor teaching. The grammar and punctuation of these kids (who are about to graduate) is pathetic. Many cannot even put a simple sentence together. We are graduating many idiots from our school systems; the fault falls squarely on the backs of our teachers, and the families who do not demand more from their children and our school systems.
