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Jon Midget's avatar

I have some first hand experience with abysmal writing and reading expectations in schools--I am a 5th grade teacher.

First, regarding reading. There is a major push in schools to focus on short, contemporary, and informational text. I was told by a Language Arts Specialist that I should never "waste time" with anything longer than 3 pages long. And let's be honest: modern short, informational writing demands so much less brain power than the greatest works of literature. I do my best to counter this nonsense in my own class (we read ten novels over the course of the year--we're just starting Treasure Island now), but there's sadly only so much a single teacher can do against this wave of stupidity.

Second, regarding writing. There's a huge push to get kids to write longer pieces as fast as possible. 1st graders are expected to write a paragraph. My 5th graders are expected to write a multi-paragraph essay.

You may wonder, "what's wrong with this?"

Well, the students can't write a coherent sentence yet. And so you get what you show in your example: lots of words that are empty, with very little substance or craft. My own fifth graders came to me unable to explain what makes a complete sentence. And yet, they've been writing full paragraphs for years.

In short, we are skipping the basics, the foundations. We ask they put up a large word count and don't bother to ask: does it mean anything? Are the thoughts organized? How do you move from one idea to the next, carefully leading the reader through an intelligent guided tour of your thoughts on the subject? Are the sentences themselves crafted with intelligence and care?

And now, with the advent of AI into the sphere, the problem will only get worse and worse.

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PSW's avatar

Good writing is a product of frequent book reading. I don't think kids read much today other than abbreviated text messages.

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