Pet peeve

Atl-Murse · Dec 1, 2016

Hope that made you feel better about yourself.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2016

...sentence structure and syntax more in line with a junior high school student

Many junior high school students are notably outstanding writers.

Anyhow, this phenomenon is merely a sign of the times as the U.S. has made the conversion from a print-based society to an image-based one. Since people do significantly less pleasure reading these days, it shows in their writing skills.

Moreover, educated professionals are not immune to this type of de-skilling. The average American citizen reads and writes at a sixth to eighth grade level, and inevitably, some college-educated persons fall into this category. However, I am not ashamed of them, nor do I feel any umbrage regarding their use of the written word.

Nonetheless, thank you for your feedback. :)

guest974915 · Dec 1, 2016

I'm sorry, but 'professionalism' connotes certain implied expectations and standards of educational preparedness and behavior. The fact that you're okay with the the 'dumbing down' of some professionals speaks volumes about you! Perhaps, come back with a wittier response when you've been in nursing longer than 1 year! I digress

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Dec 1, 2016

I'm on board with OP. But I stopped expressing my opinions in this area when I found out that schools are no longer teaching cursive writing . . . & discovered that no one else was shocked, appalled, gobsmacked, stunned, flummoxed, aghast, or even perturbed. I'm convinced that literacy Armageddon is looming.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2016

I'm on board with OP. But I stopped expressing my opinions in this area when I found out that schools are no longer teaching cursive writing . . . & discovered that no one else was shocked, appalled, gobsmacked, stunned, flummoxed, aghast, or even perturbed. I'm convinced that literacy Armageddon is looming.

I received cursive writing lessons during my second, third and fourth grade years (circa 1988 to 1991). I think the cohort with whom I attended grade school may be the last generation to have been taught cursive writing.

I concur with you. It is enormously sad...

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2016

I received cursive writing lessons during my second, third and fourth grade years (circa 1988 to 1991). I think the cohort with whom I attended grade school may be the last generation to have been taught cursive writing.
I concur with you. It is enormously sad...

I was also taught cursive in grammar school, but no students in my current population have learned it.

But I what I find more more off-putting is the fact that so many of the middle school students I work with cannot read a non-digital clock. And we have those old school wall clocks in every classroom. They ask me what time it is, I point to the clock, and they tell me "I can't read that."

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2016

But I what I find more more off-putting is the fact that so many of the middle school students I work with cannot read a non-digital clock. And we have those old school wall clocks in every classroom. They ask me what time it is, I point to the clock, and they tell me "I can't read that."

Also, many of today's kids have no clue on the proper use of a land line telephone with a receiver when their cell phones are not working properly. If forced to dial a number on one of those phones, they stare at it with a deer-in-the-headlights look.

allnurses Guide · Dec 1, 2016

When we play games at home that require people to write down an answer to something, my 18-year-old son cannot read the cursive writing of even the most tidy of individuals. His brain simply cannot work it out. He is an honor student, I might add. It just isn't taught anymore. The most cursive he writes is his own name and even that is rare.

I understand the OPs rant but I feel it is rather divisive and that there are far bigger fish to fry in this world in modern times.

Asystole RN · Dec 1, 2016

Also, many of today's kids have no clue on the proper use of a land line telephone with a receiver when their cell phones are not working properly. If forced to dial a number on one of those phones, they stare at it with a deer-in-the-headlights look.

Can you believe that kids these days don't know how to plane wood to make a plank either? How the hell are they going to raise a barn if they don't know how to make planks???

I am more interested in young people learning how to thrive in the society they will exist in rather than learning the technologies of their predecessors. Thats just me though.

I laugh when I see older nurses who struggle to chart on the computer or troubleshoot even the most basic of computer issues complain about how the youngins cannot write in cursive or don't handwrite letters anymore.

The reason why kids are not learning the things we did when we were kids is because much of what we learned is now obsolete or fast becoming. My grandkids will very likely only see landlines in old movies.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Dec 1, 2016

I'm put off by posters who use text speak, post in all capital letters, fail to use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation and by those who use the terms "NETY" or "bully."

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2016

Can you believe that kids these days don't know how to plane wood to make a plank either? How the hell are they going to raise a barn if they don't know how to make planks???
I am more interested in young people learning how to thrive in the society they will exist in rather than learning the technologies of their predecessors. Thats just me though.
I laugh when I see older nurses who struggle to chart on the computer or troubleshoot even the most basic of computer issues complain about how the youngins cannot write in cursive or don't handwrite letters anymore.
The reason why kids are not learning the things we did when we are kids is because much of what we learned is now obsolete. My grandkids will very likely only see landlines in old movies.

I'm far from "old" (in my 30s), but wall clocks are very much still used. Therefore, we should ensure middle school children know how to tell time by looking at one of them. I have also worked with many students that are scared to make a phone call or a presentation. While I appreciate the digital age, I do wonder if some of it distances us from face-to-face and voice-to-voice daily interactions.

As for grammar, one thing I find interesting is that I tend to text in more complete words/sentences and my parents use text abbreviations (u instead of you, for example).