Illiteracy and High School Students

Pro is illiterate. http://www.debate.org...

Many like her post in this forum. Amazing.

I don't know. But I suspect she knows how to write properly. She is just used to another dialect of English. For her, writing on the Internet makes her default to this other dialect.

I consider myself literate. Yet, when I am IMing certain friends of mine, I too default to this Internet dialect. It's not because I'm stupid. It's just that that's how teenagers talk on the Internet. Lol. :D

At 10/28/2009 6:58:50 AM, PoeJoe wrote:
I don't know. But I suspect she knows how to write properly. She is just used to another dialect of English. For her, writing on the Internet makes her default to this other dialect.

I consider myself literate. Yet, when I am IMing certain friends of mine, I too default to this Internet dialect. It's not because I'm stupid. It's just that that's how teenagers talk on the Internet. Lol. :D

You, sure. But you'd be surprised at how many high-schoolers do not have sufficient reading proficiency. In urban areas especially, most 10th graders retain a 4th grade reading comprehension level at best. The fact that one of our country's most prestigious newspapers, the New York Times, is merely at a 5th grade reading level suggests that we really have a declining interest in language arts if not literacy alone.

My question is - Why can a nation as advanced as America be unable to read. Granted it is a minority, but it's ridiculous to me.

At 11/13/2009 4:31:06 PM, I-am-a-panda wrote:
My question is - Why can a nation as advanced as America be unable to read. Granted it is a minority, but it's ridiculous to me.

People can READ but comprehension is another story. So are things like knowing proper spelling and grammar.

One good example is the interpretations of the 2nd amendment some people come up with. : )

At 11/13/2009 4:31:06 PM, I-am-a-panda wrote:
My question is - Why can a nation as advanced as America be unable to read. Granted it is a minority, but it's ridiculous to me.

What is it that you have against beer exactly??

At 11/13/2009 8:54:26 PM, mattrodstrom wrote:

At 11/13/2009 4:31:06 PM, I-am-a-panda wrote:
My question is - Why can a nation as advanced as America be unable to read. Granted it is a minority, but it's ridiculous to me.

What is it that you have against beer exactly??

Self-hating Irishmen are funny, indeed.

At 11/13/2009 9:20:21 AM, theLwerd wrote:
The fact that one of our country's most prestigious newspapers, the New York Times, is merely at a 5th grade reading level suggests that we really have a declining interest in language arts if not literacy alone.

What would you prefer it be, something only the very educated can understand?
Simplicity is sometimes a very good thing.