It All Comes Back to Basics

Yet another study, same outcome: kids these days, they can't write.

I see it in my history class at NWACC. They live in fear of the essay question that we are required to have on all tests.

Wall Street Journal weighs in against business school grads for lack of writing skills, but I'm not so sure this isn't across the board. Here's a great pull quote:

Sharon Washington, executive director of the National Writing Project in Berkeley, Calif., says U.S. high schools and undergraduate programs have de-emphasized writing instruction, and constant digital communication may be eroding writing skills. "The good news about texting is that at least people are writing more," Ms. Washington says.

Yes, but they r txt > but sayin <. And that's giving that you realize the difference between a more than and less than signs.

Still, what we learn in school is key, and if the emphasis remains on the classics -- good story telling, good writing -- the technology will follow. That's not to declare myself a Ludite, far from it. But you can have the slickest interface and if the content is crap, it won't matter.

Couple of blasts from past in this area as Dvorak talks about J-school, they keys to quality engagement from my recent NCAA Convention appearance, a look at the brave new world in j-school, and getting the basics right.