As a newly "renaissanced" (my euphemism for "retired" :-) high school English teach, boy-oh-boy, do I have lots to say on this subject! ... lst, from my perspective, things are getting better due to the public awareness that they have to or we're all in trouble: parents are on notice, teachers always have been (imho :), & so are the students themselves. We haven't, unfortunately, quite reverted to the old days when kids could read the classics in "grammar school" (as my own mother could, e.g.), but I think we'll eventually get there. So, in a word, there is hope. Take the Chicago Public Schools, my bailiwick -- we have a great CEO who has had fabulous success in getting our system back-to-basics in a few years (with thanks to the Mayor for appointing him & to the CTU for working with him, &, oh yes, to us teachers behind the proverbial throne :-). Of course, as with any innovative process, a lot of mistakes get made, but they do get corrected, & , of course, if they would ever get around to asking us teachers what
we think, all of the literacy problems would be solved!
One thing I do know, do assure you, is that the majority of teachers are wearing themselves out trying to teach: their hearts are in the right place (definitely not in their pocketbooks), but because of the problems with things non-educational (like guns, e.g., ahem), their job has become Sisyphus-like, difficult in mythological proportions, &, truly, I'm not exaggerating. [Btw,
I'm not worn out, but I was good & tired when I renaissanced, & have nothing but empathy for those of my ilk still trying to roll that ol' boulder whatever up the hill.]
In case you might be interested in another teacher's methods... I would make editing (of grammar, usage, orthography, etc. :-) another lesson
after my students handed in their writing [the rational being that "after" lessened the worry about making errors during the creating process]. I'd tell my students that I was their editor, the kind that professional writers have the benefit of, & that the items I'd correct (whether red, blue, or fuschia penciled) were not admonishments ("You made a mistake!") but rather tips, gifts of my time & expertise, additional learning tools. I think -- I hope! -- it helped them. (One of the "aches" in teacher [that there was an "ache" is something my teacher-mother wrote decades ago] is that you don't always know if your students are truly getting what you want to give -- some things can't always be measured by tests.)
I loved "teaching" writing in all its aspects. The trouble is that we also had to teach required literary selections, & most of these became reading lessons, they were so challenging in vocabulary, ad infinitum, and therefore, they took an endless amount of time to cover -- if we wanted our students to understand what they had to read. With all my heart, I wish there had been more humor in the required literature, something the kids would enjoy spending time on, rather than the seriousness of social &/or historical issues. Even though we would try to make it challenging & fun in some way, much of it was dreary & depressing, rather than uplifting & inspiring. So that is a curriculum change I would recommend -- if I were ever asked. :-)
Uh oh, I'm getting off the soapbox now, & my apologies for getting pedantic. :-) My main point is that there is hope for the future, that students will again want to learn, are wanting to (at least from my observations), & meanwhile, parents like yourselves are doing just what they should be doing -- it's obvious from your posts to this forum: One has to care first, right, & it's to be applauded that you certainly do. If only some of my wonderful teenagers had had parents like you, they would have had a much easier time of it.
Wispy (a.k.a. Renaissanced :-)
