Merit Software Dispatch

The National Curriculum Board of Australia has recently proposed that traditional English and grammar lessons be reinstated in school classrooms to address a deterioration in writing skills. See the report on ABC News.

The recommendation comes after complaints from universities and business that students lack the most basic knowledge.

Many businesses and colleges, along with parents and self-motivated students, have purchased and used Merit writing and grammar software to fill this void.

Mastery of grammar and language is essential for success in school and on the job. In school, a command of grammar improves students’ ability to understand concepts and to communicate their ideas.

The most popular resources are Essay Punch, Paragraph Punch and Grammar Fitness.

In most jobs, good verbal and written communication skills are essential. In the corporate world, for example, where communication is often via email, poor grammar and language skills are exposed immediately.

In job interviews as well as social interactions, command of grammar and language signals a person’s level of education and competency.

What do you think? Have you seen a decline in grammar and language skills? Should traditional English and grammar lessons be reinstated in the curriculum? Share your thoughts with us.

The Daily Herald reports that the latest Illinois state test results show a somewhat alarming trend – state reading scores for high school juniors in urban areas are dropping. In the case of the suburbs, scores are flattening. The article asks, “if there is a problem, what to do about it, especially now that we are in the Digital Age?”

That there is a problem seems pretty clear to us. We work with a wide range of educational settings including community colleges and GED programs — places where students go to get a second chance. It is striking just how poor the literacy skills are of some of these students. Many of them begin these programs reading at a 5th or 6th grade level.

It’s always been important for teenagers to interact with their peers. In the Digital Age, they can now do it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Technology has become a way to reinforce their interests all the time. Teenagers would rather spend time chatting with friends, shopping online, and watching webcasts using the Internet than reading books. Books are less often perceived as a source of information or entertainment.

Additionally, technology has shortened students’ attention span. They are used to immediate gratification that technology provides. This just makes keeping students’ attention in school and on homework more difficult.

Going forward from here, we have a few suggestions to improve reading skills and test scores:

1) Help students make personal connections to the books they are reading in school. Students need to quickly see the benefits of the books they are reading and how the books affect THEM. Educational technologies such as Book Punch can assist teachers with this task.

2) Stop teaching to the test. Teaching to the test bores students. It teaches students how to memorize facts and answer questions in the format they’ll see on standardized tests. This doesn’t teach them how to work with facts, make interpretations, or develop their own critical thinking skills.

3) Teach core reading skills, at least a little bit, beyond 3rd grade. Currently, in U.S. public schools, it is assumed that students know how to read once they reach upper elementary school levels. This is an unrealistic premise.