Education and grammar.

There have always been a proportion of the population who are functionally illiterate. The difference is that now we see that illiteracy in plain sight on social media.

If the average IQ is 100 then it stands to reason that a good proportion of the population has an IQ below that.
68% fall within an IQ band of 85 and 115.

Everyone, however, is entitled to an opinion and is allowed to air that opinion.

The vast majority of youngsters do not study English beyond GCSEs.

But even so they should have a good grasp of grammar and spelling.

Texting is accepted as a normal way of communication today.

Any errors I make are purely down to autocorrect!

Just like Maw I gained my knowledge of grammar in a Scottish Primary school, nothing to do with O levels or Highers.

In the Scottish primary I taught in, the teaching grammar featured highly in the curriculum.
Unfortunately, many of the young teachers hadn't a clue, as the teaching of grammar had gone out of fashion when they were at school.

We spent a fortune, buying appropriate materials to support the teaching of grammar.
One of my colleagues even asked me to support her university student daughter, as she kept having essays returned due to poor grammar.

i have never heard of 5-column analysis.
managed ok without it.
the subject i got the highest mark in was the one we had no teacher for in 5th form, she went awol most of the time, and we just passed the time.
it was english language, even if she'd been there the other half of the class who had the headmistress teaching them, also never heard of 5-column analysis.
i got grade 1 for english language O-Level.
the next year i got cambridge use of english cert, also with no teaching, and A/O-Level General Paper.
also A-Level English, which was literature, 9 works inc chaucer in middle english.
also got A-Level History.
which wasn't bad considering.
no where a peep of even one column, let alone 5, then or since.

Mamie

There have always been a proportion of the population who are functionally illiterate. The difference is that now we see that illiteracy in plain sight on social media.
Nothing to do with the good old days.

Is it possible that a section of the population are just stupid? Nothing can teach them to reason or understand the truth of what is going on.This is why equality can never happen. Statistically there is a range of high to low.

There have always been a proportion of the population who are functionally illiterate. The difference is that now we see that illiteracy in plain sight on social media.
Nothing to do with the good old days.

...but who said it was young people i didn’t see that in the opening post I presume when commenting on a local newspaper article you don’t have to put Bluebelle aged 14
I ve heard and seen many people of all ages who are very Ignorant of spelling, grammar, punctuation or how to debate sensibly

Pleased to hear mention of five column analysis - I definitely practised it at school (in England!) but could find no mention of it anywhere when searching for resources when I re-trained as an.English teacher. Where is it?!

I completely agree about the generally poor standard of grammar and punctuation. It is perfectly possible to write spontaneously and creatively, whilst maintaining a reasonable level of English. I also dislike the misplaced use of the word 'like' in speech. ( I am old and grumpy!)

No I am not Welbeck just saying that it doesn’t have to be laid at the door of secondary school students, Secondary schools or our exam system.
Not is it anything to do with privilege or money - just a traditional, possibly old-fashioned education.

it was the luck of the draw that you were born at that time/ place and moreso that you had that schooling.
lucky old you.

now you're showing off.

biba70

The vast majority of youngsters do not study English beyond GCSEs.

I learned all my grammar, spelling, idioms, metaphors and similes, metonymy, antonomasia, what we called “parsing” or my daughters learned as 5 column analysis, punctuation and appropriate registers of language long before GCSE (or O levels as they were in my day) having enjoyed the benefits of a Scottish primary school.

Abuse and name calling is nothing to do with spelling and grammar though. The two are entirely separate issues. In fact, one could argue that the emphasis on correct grammar, stultifies communication and original thought.
I also agree with Spangler about reading for pleasure.

The vast majority of youngsters do not study English beyond GCSEs.

Maybe so, but there's also a general lack of reading, of absorbing knowledge simply for the pleasure of it. Spellcheckers and predictive suggestions negate the need for a dictionary, printers negate the need to hand write regularly and because those that post are generally of an age to have grown up with texts, emails and forums, they have no understanding of communication.

Body language is essential when conversing one to one, we use gestures, eye contact, nuances and arm movements. All that is lost with the written word and if you have grown up without the richness gained of the written word, through reading, then sadly, the result is as you perceive, brutal.

Sounds like a few of the political threads on here. ?