- Mood: sleepy
- Music: nothing right now
An interesting news article on Yahoo notes that in a recent study, University graduates in the US lack skills in being able to interpret different types of texts, including credit card contracts, and balancing cheque books.
This is probably not a US-only phenomenon however. After all, when was the last time you had a teacher (or if you are a teacher) talked about reading and deciphering legal documents? And balancing cheque books is not on any final exam I know (with the exception of CGA certification, etc.)
The reporter, Ben Feller of the Associated Press, is correct in noting:
"Without "proficient" skills, or those needed to perform more complex tasks, students fall behind. They cannot interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school."
As teachers, we need to be open minded and remember that our goal is to help students get ready and join society- that means when they end their educational journey, they should have the skills to complete tasks they need to do. This means that every once and awhile, we need to step back from relying on text books and novels and remember that there are other types of text out there. Our students need to be able to handle every one of them- or at least have the intuition to find someone who can help them.
On another note...
I am lucky to have two university degrees, with a diploma on the way. I don't think I've ever read a credit card contract. Scary thought.
Yahoo News story: Most College Students Lack Skills
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