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Show School7v and fri Home r 7 Dr. Daryl J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Educotion Association Writing skills Studies indicate that writing skills of America's young people have decreased significantly over the years. Several theories explain it, at least in part. One theory holds that machine scoring of tests requires an "x" in the appropriate box on an examination paper, but no writing. Teachers have larger classes, leaving little time to correct students' essays. With easy access to telephones, young people write fewer letters than they once did. Among the problems are incorrect spelling and inability to express thoughts on paper in a cohesive way. Obviously, there are many young people who can and do write well. But because they are rarely called upon to do so, many are finding themselves lacking in written communication skills. Parents can help their children gain greater writing skills. Do your children see you writing? Are they writing for school assignments, assign-ments, letters to friends, or reports on books they've read? Do you tell them that writing is a valuable skill, and that they should spend a lot of effort in developing it? . When you spot a spelling or grammatical gram-matical error in son Ralph's letter to Aunt Kathy, do you talk it over with him? You can help your children improve their writing skills by looking for or creating ways they can practice writing. Learning to write is like learning to play a piano or batting a baseball. You learn by doing it over and over and over. If you start a son or daughter on a personal project, such as keeping a personal journal, it can be one of the most valuable learning experiences that child may every have. It's a daily writing experience. It forces the child to take a good, hard, evaluative look at the way he or she is living as well as identifying areas in which he or she needs additional communicative skills. Older persons often fail to see changes in their lives, or changes in the way they think. A look at a personal journal that's ten years old can be a revealing experience that can change the writer's life for the good. Why not talk to your children about the idea of keeping journals or carrying out other activities which will improve their writing and spelling skills? |
