I think much of the poor writing today stems from the time the writers were in grade school, when they were told, "Don't worry about how you spell or about correct grammar, the important thing is to get your thoughts out".
I believe poor writing skills came from the Phd's in Education who set school policies and curriculum's that ignored the teaching of proper English to children at the most impressionable age. It also let many teachers off the hook in teaching proper English.
Why do you think programs like "Hooked on Phonics" were so popular?...because phonics was no longer on the curriculum. Fortunately, many of the more responsible teachers continued to teach it, in spite of its removal.
A friend of mine, who taught biogenetics at U of T, asked his students to write an essay, and when he saw how poorly they wrote, he arranged for a colleague to give every one of his students a crash course in English. He was given a special citation from the University for doing so.
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