Ruehle 1

Brian Ruehle
Professor Reed
English 101
29 July 2014
The Need for English Education: The STE !ields and Beyond
Not only is reading and "riting declining as a #ast ti$e for the %$erican #eo#le& it is also
declining in i$#ortance for our educational syste$' (ith our society in the gri#s of a ne"
technological age schools are )eginning to focus $ore and $ore ti$e and $oney into the STE
*Science& Technology& Engineering& and athe$atics+ fields' %lthough this $ay see$ to )e a
"ise course of action the resultant decline in reading and "riting education is not only
detri$ental to the as#iring STE graduate )ut also for our nations youth as a "hole' (e are
starting to see a )rea, do"n in reading and "riting s,ills that corres#ond to our ad-ance$ent in
this technological era' But "e $ust reali.e that all fields of study as "ell as all /o) o##ortunities&
e-en those in the STE fields& can )enefit fro$ an i$#ro-ed English education' They can hel#
enhance our retention and a)ility to #rocess co$#le0 ideas li,e those #resented in STE
education' Therefore& reading and "riting education needs to )e u#held and #ro$oted in order to
co$)at our nation1s declining s,ills "ith English gra$$ar and to i$#ro-e u#on STE literacy
in the classroo$'
2ur nation is slo"ly )ut surely losing gri# on it1s )asic English functions' (ith the rise of
instant $essaging and #rogra$s li,e the s#ellchec,er& #eo#le today are )eginning to no longer
#ro#erly use the English language' (e ha-e )eco$e a #eo#le of s#eed and instant gratification&
not gi-ing -alue to 3uality and consistency' Ta,e te0ting for e0a$#le' %))re-iated te0ts such as
4i 56 u&7 4er$ahgerd&7 and 4"hut7 are re#lacing their #ro#er English counter#arts 48 lo-e you&7
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42h $y god&7 and 4"hat'7 8t is easy to see ho" re#etiti-e use of such a))re-iated language can
slo"ly eat a"ay at the gra$$atical foundation of an indi-idual' 8n a recent study& 9a$)ridge
%ssess$ent& sur-eyed $ore than 2&000 teenagers in 2: English secondary schools' 2f those
sur-eyed only 41 #ercent reali.ed that an ad/ecti-e had )een used in #lace of an ad-er) in the
#hrase ;co$e 3uic,; and fe"er than si0<in<10 students correctly identified ;off of;& ;she "as
stood; and ;this $an sho"ed us; as ungra$$atical *Paton+' This lac, of an e-en )asic
understanding of the English language is scary to conte$#late' %nd although one $ay see this as
the English language1s e-entual e-olution& so$ething it has )een doing since it1s creation& the
route in "hich English is heading is )eco$ing detri$ental to society as a "hole'
2ne instance "here )asic reading and "riting s,ills ha-e sho"n to )e a detri$ent is in the
"or,#lace' 8n al$ost any /o) you ha-e in your lifeti$e& the need for a gras# on the English
language is essential' Be it fro$ "riting an Engineering re#ort detailing the s#ecifications of a
ne" #rototy#e& to gi-ing a $a/or #resentation for the )oard of directors' 8n either case an
understanding of the English language is #ara$ount for getting your ideas across in a clear and
concise $anner' 8f not& then co$$unication errors can occur costing your co$#any or e$#loyer
ti$e and $oney that could ha-e )een )etter used else"here' The Business Roundta)le& an
association of chief e0ecuti-e officers of leading ='S' co$#anies& did a sur-ey of its $e$)er
co$#anies and found that together they "ere s#ending $ore than >6 )illion each year on
re$edial "riting courses for their e$#loyees& and not /ust for ne" hourly e$#loyees& )ut e3ually
di-ided a$ong current salaried e$#loyees& current hourly e$#loyees& ne" salaried e$#loyees
*college graduates+& and ne" hourly e$#loyees *high school graduates+' *!it.hugh 41?<41:+'
This sho"s that not only do current& older e$#loyees ha-e a lac, of )asic "riting s,ills )ut that
younger e$#loyees& so$e fresh out of high school& also are lac,ing in these s,ills' They ha-e
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)eco$e attached to their ne" a))re-iated $ethod of "riting and it is ha-ing serious
conse3uences in the "or,#lace' 2ne #ossi)le #lace "here "e could loo, for ans"ers and find a
"ay to hel# is "ithin our o"n educational syste$'
Being the first #lace $ost #eo#le learn a)out reading and "riting& our educational syste$
is a great #lace to start "hen loo,ing for #ossi)le solutions to this #ro)le$' !or if "e )egin to
shy a"ay fro$ our res#onsi)ility to teach the ne0t generations a)out the use of #ro#er English
"e "ill slo"ly aid in it1s current& $isguided e-olutionary #ath' any schools try and adhere to
the i$#ortance "e used to #lace on the English language& )ut it is )eginning to d"indle' %
national study done for The 9oncord Re-ie" in 2002 found that "hile 9? #ercent of high school
teachers )elie-e "riting a research #a#er is i$#ortant or -ery i$#ortant& :2 #ercent ne-er assign
a #a#er of $oderate length *three thousand to fi-e thousand "ords+ and @1 #ercent ne-er assign a
#a#er of $ore than fi-e thousand "ordsAthe starting #oint for $ost #a#ers #u)lished in The
9oncord Re-ie" *!it.hugh 41?+' Bigh school is a #ri$e chance and o##ortunity to really focus
on and teach students the reading and "riting s,ills they "ill need for their future' Since "e are
reducing the length of #a#ers "e re3uire ,ids to "rite "e are only encouraging this for$ of
shortened& non detailed and a))re-iated for$ of "riting that is )eco$ing #o#ular' (e "ant to
co$)at this trend "ith any $eans necessary' 8f "e are not gi-ing the$ this "ell needed
education )ecause either the teacher the$sel-es ne-er had to "rite such a #a#er& or )ecause the
teacher /ust isnCt gi-en enough ti$e )y ad$inistrators to grade 60<:0 serious #a#ers& then "e
need to ree-aluate "hat is i$#ortant in our educational syste$'
(ith the current need focused to"ards technological ad-ance$ents& English education is
)eing #ut to"ards the "ayside in e0change for increased focus on STE fields' No"& STE
fields are an i$#ortant #art of our continued ad-ance$ent and #rogress in this technological era
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)ut "e $ust re$e$)er that it is not e-erything' 8n fact& reading and "riting e0ercises can
i$#ro-e the effecti-eness of education "ithin the STE fields' Dearning s#ecific to#ics in the
STE fields can )e a challenging endea-or for students due to it1s hefty de$and for -oca)ulary
ter$s and conce#ts' 8t is the /o) of the teacher to $a,e sure their students are taught these
difficult -oca)ulary ter$s and conce#ts in a clear and understanda)le fashion' Bo" so$e
teachers go a)out doing this ho"e-er& is un#roducti-e' any teachers in this field tend to gi-e
hefty 60<40 $inute lectures "here although they $ay only introduce 2<6 ne" -oca)ulary ter$s&
they the$sel-es use $any $ore during the course of the lecture there)y $a,ing it -ery difficult
for students to gras# the ,ey conce#t trying to )e e0#lained' The sa$e goes for $ulch<cha#ter
readings out of STE te0t )oo,s' Te0t)oo,s are an essential #art of the STE education )ut if it
too is littered "ith difficult -oca)ulary ter$s and conce#ts the student "ill ha-e a difficult ti$e
understanding this as "ell *Eennedy 2F+'
% "ay to co$)at this lac, of understanding& and at the sa$e ti$e gi-e reason for the
i$#ortance of English education in addition to that of STE& is to ha-e STE teachers include
in their curriculu$ $ethods for learning such difficult -oca)ulary' They need to in-ol-e
generati-e "ord learning strategies& such as sylla)ication& to hel# students )egin to understand
the $any co$#le0 "ords and #hrases used throughout the scientific co$$unity' They $ust learn
to distinguish s#ecific #refi0es& suffi0es& and affi0es that are used throughout the STE field&
there)y allo"ing the$ to $ore easily recogni.e and inter#ret ne" -oca)ulary as it co$es u#'
This strategy not only i$#ro-es the students )asic English s,ills )ut also i$#ro-es u#on his
a)ility to learn and #rocess ne" infor$ation in his STE education' Though #racticing English
s,ills in STE classes can i$#ro-e their understanding of the $aterial& so too can it i$#ro-e the
students English s,ills as a "hole' 8n the 2002 and 200F re#orts of the National %ssess$ent of
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Educational Progress *N%EP+ ad$inistered to @th and 12th graders& it sho"ed an increase in
"riting scores' 8t also re-ealed that the $ore fre3uently students re#orted "riting one or $ore
#aragra#hs in science classes the higher their "riting achie-e$ent' *(ilco0+' %s e0#ected& "ith
an increase in #ractice of a students reading and "riting s,ills the )etter at such s,ills he or she
)eco$es' But "hen this increased #ractice is cou#led "ith the )enefits for STE education& the
argu$ents against an increased English education in fa-or of STE fields )egins to cru$)le'
2ur nation is falling into the gri#s of a technological re-olution' Te0ting and instant
$essaging are )eco$ing the )asic for$ of hu$an con-ersation& slo"ly eroding a"ay at the
foundations of the English language' The efficiency of the "or,ing indi-idual is starting to
)eco$e effected and is there)y causing #ro)le$s for the co$#anies and )usiness1s they "or, for'
8ncreased STE education& as -ital as it is for our steady #rogress in the ra#idly gro"ing
technological field& is )eginning to ta,e a"ay fro$ the -ital teachings of reading and "riting'
But there is ho#e' 8ncreased attention to the fields of reading and "riting can actually )e
)eneficial for such #rogress in the STE fields' 8t can not only increase the effecti-eness of the
education in such fields )ut it also )enefits the a-erage #erson in endea-ors they "ill face
throughout their lifeti$e' By recogni.ing our need for an increased English education
throughout not only our o"n educational syste$& )ut that of the "orld as a "hole& "e can )egin
to fight )ac, against its deterioration'
Ruehle :
(or,s 9ited
!it.hugh& (ill' ;Bigh School !light !ro$ Reading %nd (riting';Academic Questions 24'4
*2011+: 412<41@' Professional Development Collection' (e)' 29 July 2014'
Eennedy& ichael' J'(e0ler& Jade' ;Bel#ing Students Succeed (ithin Secondary<De-el STE
9ontent'; Teaching Exceptional Children 4?'4 *2016+: 2:<66' Professional Development
Collection' (e)' 29 July 2014'
Paton& Grae$e' ;Standard English in decline a$ong teenagers'; The Telegraph 24 2ct' 200@&
sec' Education: 1' Print'
(ilco0& Brad& and Eula E"ing onroe' ;8ntegrating (riting and athe$atics'; Reading
Rockets' N'#'& 1 Jan' 2011' (e)' 29 July 2014'
5htt#:HH"""'readingroc,ets'orgHarticleH?2246I'