I work with a lot of kids who are in high school and barely know how to read, so I would definitely agree that there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about how our young people are educated.
However, I wonder to what extent we're like admirals in 1940 begging for more battleships, when aircraft carriers are what will really be needed for the next war. As Janice said, communication is now based largely on the spoken word, not on the written word, and I've found no lack of eloquence in the young people I know who have good homes and access to decent schools.
This is not to say all is well -- I think a good start would be giving teachers the recognition and compensation they deserve for teaching -- but things tend to look bleaker across a generational divide. Or so I have found these days, when I regularly want to yell "You kids get off of my lawn!" at all and sundry.
Ed
P.S. If Shakespeare wrote today he'd be no less a marvel and a giant, but I doubt he'd make much of a splash in popular culture. Prince, Dylan and maybe even Brittany Spears would have him for lunch, most likely. It doesn't change what I like or value, but the world has changed, I think. School is only part of that.
Last edited by Ed Shacklee; 04-30-2012 at 12:23 PM.
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