Are basic literacy skills declining?



heroesof73 said:
Very much this, different world today to when I grew up. Basic "sums" as well! Always have a chuckle going into a shop with a young un behind the counter and buy 2 or 3 things and give them the right money--they look at you like you are Mastermind after their crosscheck on till or with pen and paper:lol:
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Or something cost £6.20 so you give them £21.20 and they get confused.
 
Snugster said:
Or something cost £6.20 so you give them £21.20 and they get confused.
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I was once stood behind a young woman in a queue at the deli. She’d bought an unsliced loaf, some eggs and a bottle of milk and the cashier told her the total was £12. She just went to pay it, no questions.

I pointed out that it was bloody expensive and the cashier checked the till and had rung up the loaf as 800p instead of 80p! I find it weird when people don’t have a rough idea of what their shopping should cost.
 
I had40 years or so teaching English in secondary schools. A goodly number of of the "raggy lad" type kept telling me endlessly that they didn't need writing skills, had no intention of writing anything once they left school.
Then they left and social media became popular and so they have been struggling a little since!
 
calmac said:
I had40 years or so teaching English in secondary schools. A goodly number of of the "raggy lad" type kept telling me endlessly that they didn't need writing skills, had no intention of writing anything once they left school.
Then they left and social media became popular and so they have been struggling a little since!
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Look at me, I'm a shit teacher. Pathetic.
 
I bet the grammar Nazis are all over this thread.

Kids don’t read anymore- that’s the issue. The simple act of reading- and I’m talking any literary text- is paramount to a child’s educational progress.
 
daedalus said:
I bet the grammar Nazis are all over this thread.

Kids don’t read anymore- that’s the issue. The simple act of reading- and I’m talking any literary text- is paramount to a child’s educational progress.
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To be fair, it's mostly the oldies on this board that have trouble spelling and typing. Especially the ones who want to "make Britian grate again".






Edit - How dare my autocorrect autocorrect Britian to Britain. Bastard.
 
kossoff said:
To be fair, it's mostly the oldies on this board that have trouble spelling and typing. Especially the ones who want to "make Britian grate again".
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I would say the older poster who was drilled in the three Rs has a better grasp of the English language than some of the younger posters. They get their own back by being ( on the whole) far more computer literate.
 
Heard a story off me dad, a few of the lads went away years ago and all sent postcards home. His mate was a postman in the village so read this one when he was sorting the mail.

One of them had got one of the others to write it for him as he couldn’t read or write.

It went something like,

Weather wonderful,
Beer great,
Plenty fanny.
 
I once berated someone on FB for their stupid txt spk and they answered that it was how people wrote these days, and it was even accepted at their school. :rolleyes:
 

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