... but not really surprising: Michael Skube's Writing Off Reading. (Hat tip, Bonnie Calhoun.)
Michael and I were Pulitzer jurors a couple of years ago and he often told me how dismaying it was to encounter college students who were, for all practical purposes, functionally illiterate (or so it sounded it to me).
This is not something the politicians can fix and one of the problems it stems from is the MSM's insistence that the only things that consitiute news are what polticians, athletes, entertainers and celebrities do. But more than that, it has to have something to do with the people teaching in the schools. First, how do they get off giving these kids, not just passing grades, but top grades? What are they assigning their students to read? Have they not noticed that their students cannot write - or can't they tell?
My suggestion? A general knowledge and culture test for the teachers. See if they know any Shakespeare or Chekhov. Find out what sort of music they listen to. I like pop music as much as anyone, but if one is not familiar with the major works of the major composers, one is not really educated - and one has missed out on the some of the most sublime pleasures life can offer. The same is true of painting and sculpture. A culture can be transmitted only by persons who are steeped in it.
Frank, something that illustrates one of your points ... earlier this week, I was transcribing a television news script for posting to our station's website.
ReplyDeleteIt was a story about a local production of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," and it referred to this "medieval classic" ... I made the appropriate change, and bumped the reference up a few hundred years.
A small point, maybe. But it does illustrate an important aspect to my work as a web editor ... and something I am called upon to do on an almost-daily basis.
Frank, have you ever seen a typical high school's honor roll these days? Seems as if about 80 percent of the school's student population is on it. My suggestion is that they post (or publish) the names of those who didn't make the list. It would be much shorter and save time and paper. In my high school of nearly 50 years ago, with a student population of 700-plus, I think there were perhaps 30 names on the list. Well, perhaps grade inflation has also brought greater self-esteem.
ReplyDeleteFrank, It's not so bad. I have an 8th grade son in public school outside of Boston and he's studying Shakespeare in school. They also have a music appreciation course as part of their arts rotation and have studied classical and jazz, modern and roots of both.
ReplyDeleteMy 5th grader is a fan of Aaron Copeland's music, but also has on his 'favorites' list the Goldberg Variations.
Well, Lisa, that is heartening to hear. The Goldberg Variations. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteActually, we can't blame the teachers as much as the school boards, which are political entities that mandate what the teachers can and cannot teach. I know plenty of teachers who chafe at the restrictions they are placed under by their administrators. Innovative teaching is rare, not because the world is full of mediocre teachers but because many teachers who DO stand out often get stamped back down. "Don't make waves! Stick to the guidelines!" is the school board mantras.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think it's all doom and gloom. I have been watching the Harry Potter phenomena with relish for years, because no matter what one thinks of the books, they are getting lots of kids to read again, and to enjoy reaeding. The Potter books have sparked a small but important trend in children reading for pleasure, which ripples outwards. Okay, so the Potter books are not Huckleberry Finn; so what? Anything that gets kids wanting to read again, is no bad thing, in my opinion.
My friend is a teacher in one of the local school districts, and she is always lamenting how the higher-ups keep teachers from stretching their students.
ReplyDeleteThe school district looses money if the kids don't pass at a certain level of knowledge...so how do they insure these good grades...spend the school year teaching the kind of material that will be on the tests...leaving out most everything else!
I don't know about in other places but here they don't even teach cursive writing anymore...everybody prints, for crying out loud!
I remember when we'd get prizes for great penmanship...yea, yea, I'm dating myself, it was like 40 years ago!