I just heard.........

[leftofcool]

I can't offer you a link because this is just grapevine talk among a few retired and current school teachers....but, according to some educational insiders, 44% of kids graduating from high school today can not read beyond a 4th grade level. I thought this might explain some of the more "amusing" posts here.

Left of Cool

[lonestarnot]

1. And which ones did you find so amusing?

[leftofcool]

2. Most of them

[leftofcool]

3. clarification....

the ones that look remarkably like they came from freeperville

[uppityperson]

7. Bunch at this link, esp with "ignore" on hold

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=132

[NightWatcher]

4. huked own foniks werked fer me

proud graduate of the Georgia public school system

[leftofcool]

10. I have this T-shirt!

[ananda]

5. Lol

As a teacher, I'm surprised functional illiteracy
is as low as 44%.

However, there's a way that internet and web chat
causes people to write in a different way.. more
relaxed and less concerned about grammar, punctuation,
vocabulary, spelling, etc.... Even some highly
literate persons do this.

Sue

[leftofcool]

11. I would agree with this

[Warpy]

12. As a former paid tutor at the collegiate level

I have to agree with that.

Face it, the human race is not smart, not individually. It's only when we get together and bounce ideas off each other that "smart" happens.

I found just as much math illiteracy, students who were failing college algebra because they hadn't learned the fundamentals at the elementary school level.

[leftofcool]

14. I don't doubt that

[Iris]

6. Is this new?

I mean, newspapers have traditionally been written on a 4th grade level, so maybe it's the best we can do here.

But, I agree, it does explain a lot! ;)

[Buzz Clik]

8. RU dissn my kids? Gr8. effin gr8.

[Terran]

9. I bet 100% of DUers

can read at a college level. But that doesn't make them all well-informed, of course. Or nice.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

13. See Spot run after the ball.

On the other hand lots of words being used up saying mostly nothing, except hooray for my side.

[Raejeanowl]

15. I'd Rather See Solid Statistics

But the trend toward borderline illiteracy is painfully obvious when you encounter the caliber of people with undergrad degrees out there in the real world. What's worse, the real fruits of education aren't at all valued by this ditto-head corps of gross underachievers.

Just look at who's (whose, hoos, what-ever, you anal retentive) inheriting the earth.

[movie_girl99]

16. I totally believe this.

A couple of kids my daughter graduated with had too many absences in some classes and were at risk for not graduating so the counselor moved absences around and voila, both graduated. Both have gone on to trade school.