By Jan Jaben-Eilon…

One of my biggest pet peeves recently received validation from my husband, who teaches at a state university. Reading essay responses on exams, he complains about the lack of writing skills of his students, freshmen through seniors.

I’ve contended for years that American youth will never be proficient in spelling, or proper grammar, at least partly because of advertising, especially on television. I can’t begin to list all of the incorrect spellings and grammar I have seen on TV over the years, but a recent one just hit me.

The word “kinect” was used for connect.

A beer commercial talks about less calories, when it should be fewer calories. I guess the proper English just doesn’t sound as exciting – somehow.

I’ve never understood why ad agencies over the years have thought that misspellings would entice customers to their clients’ products and services. Why? What logical explanation is there?

And now I’m even more concerned because the new social media, like Twitter, encourages communicators (if you can call them that) to use shorthand that only the proficient understand. Okay, so OMG is pretty acceptable now, but I still don’t know if LOL is “lot of love,” or “laughing out loud”! Or either one.

Also astounding is what I heard from my sister, the other day. A grandmother of three, she told me that her grandchildren, who attend a public school, are no longer being taught how to write in cursive. They will either write with block letters, or more likely, not write, but type or text on some kind of computer device – of which there are now many, for any age. My sister, whose handwriting is exquisite, is writing – by hand – books for her grandchildren. She pens these manuscripts in cursive, of course. But now she’s wondering if her grandchildren will even be able to read them! (I must add that my other sister’s child is attending a private school and she is still being taught cursive. But will any of her public school-taught peers be able to read it? And when WILL she use the cursive she’s taught since already she’s using an iTouch for communication?)

I’m not a grade school or high school teacher, nor have I polled any, but I have to wonder how they are able to teach spelling and English, and what will happen to future spelling bees. Will they have special spelling bees for those proficient in Twitter or texting?

Texting is the basic communicating tool now used by teens (and maybe pre-teens) with each other and their parents. Recently I saw an entry on Facebook from a college student home for the holidays. She complained that she felt like a “fifth wheel”. Following that entry was one from her mother, concerned that she and her husband were making her daughter feel that way. And, I thought, the daughter is home from college. Why can’t they just talk directly to each other? Do they have to share their thoughts on Facebook?

One may assume that I’m against the latest technology, but I’m not. I am concerned, however, that as technology becomes an even more important tool for communication, younger generations will lose the ability to truly communicate, and do so with proper English. Does anybody ever write a letter anymore, or a love note within a family or close relationship? And, if they do, how is it written? I (heart) U?