Basic Writing Skills
To the Editor:
I am baffled that some educators are encouraged by the news that a third of America’s eighth graders and a fourth of the nation’s high school seniors can write proficiently (news article, April 4).
These results are no cause for celebration. Writing is a form of thinking. Alarmingly, we must assume that the vast majority of American students do not think well at all. And that they seem to get worse at it as they go from middle school to high school.
The nation’s educators should be dedicating every available resource to redress this calamitous situation. An entire generation is growing up without the ability to articulate ideas in a coherent fashion. How can we expect them to advance our society without this most basic of tools?
Hugh Siegel
New York, April 4, 2008
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