Over the weekend, I read a great article in the new issue of Wired Magazine called “The New Literacy” by Clive Thompson. It began with the argument from a college professor that students today were losing the ability to write and over time, could become borderline illiterate.
Wow.
But the case was made that students today not only write more but may be more literate than their parents. Teens’ parents basically did their writing in school and unless they had a career that required that they write, they never had to pick up a No. 2 pencil again.
But think about the number of opportunities that students today have to write. Facebook. Blogs. Twitter. MySpace. Texting. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that students today do more writing than any other group of students in history.
Why? Because there are so many opportunities and platforms to use.
Sure you may see some random shorthand and smiley faces in their online writing, but they are developing the ability to think and write creatively.
The article ends with this great statement: “We think of writing as either good or bad. What today’s young people know is that knowing who you’re writing for and why you’re writing might be the most crucial factor of all.”
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