I recall taking two English courses through my high school years: English composition and English literature. So, in a day with eight classes, two of them were English. The history teacher marked for the busy-ness of English and actually had the temerity to expect complete sentences that created complete thoughts. So too did the Geography teacher. Then the darned French teacher wanted the same in THAT language. The biology teacher expected reports that made sense and followed the generally accepted rules of writing. Seemed like it never ended. Simply stated, I do not see that today.

We do know (in a pedagogical sense) that students who read lots write better English as a result of that reading. Part of the problem starts there. Kids do NOT read enough.

When I worked in industry, I saw many job applications with misspellings, poor punctuation, etc. I felt sorry for those people who didn't get interviews simply because of that. Folks, it can be corrected, but it starts at home. Always has. When I was a little kid, my grandparents expected that I write correctly, spell correctly, read the classics (whether I wanted to or not). Having had/having hyperlexia pretty much ensured that I read. Even today, with my eyesight starting to fail--either that or my arms are shrinking--I will read anything that my eyes see. When I do write well (that happens now and then), I credit the years my elders spent making sure I attended to matters of the language. That is tougher to make happen today. Many homes are 'single-parented' and others are run by adults, both of whom have to work to make sure ends meet. Poor English is a result of the times. How we reverse that is beyond me. I hope it isn't beyond everyone.