What are they teaching the kids these days?
That's an interesting question,
and one which is fairly topical. Part of the problem lies in the illiteracy levels of the employers. I remember in the late '80s mounting a mini campaign in M & S to get them to change their signs "10 items or less", which actually worked - nationwide, eventually. But they're not the only culprits. Inability to use the apostrophe is endemic, with the comma not faring much better, and the semi-colon might as well be an alien visitor, for all the competence that attends its use.
The English language is dynamic, of course, and changes to accommodate acquisitions from other cultures. This is one characteristic of a successful language, and those who fight what they perceive as 'cultural and linguistic erosion' should not be surprised when their own languages begin to whither. The French have long sought to eradicate any 'contamination', which is one reason why their language - once espoused as
the international language - has lost out to English. But grammar, syntax and punctuation - particularly the latter - aid comprehension, so it's important to try to get them to acceptable levels.
Returning to Fester's question, however, I'd say that schools are in a battle simply to get children to read books. It's reading that improves writing, but how many kids these days enjoy reading books? Parents are the key to encouraging children to read, and perhaps if there were fewer TVs in bedrooms, fewer PS3s available 24 hours a day and - perhaps most of all - more parents prepared to spend time reading to and with their children at an early age, then we'd have a significantly greater level of literacy in general.
