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The Center for Lifelong Learning was created to address these and other pressing literacy issues. 

We believe that the problem of the decline in literacy is exacerbated by the fact that nearly everyone is taught to read using techniques that modern education and brain researchers have proven to be antiquated. Since the beginning of mass education in the U.S., students have been taught to read, starting in Kindergarten, in ways that have been shown to be the opposite of the way our brains work. 

Most people attribute their reading problems to their own failings as students. Yet the problem is really the techniques they were taught to use, not their brain and its native capabilities. 

Researchers have found that the reality is that the faster you read, the more you remember. It’s the way our brains are designed. In school, kids are taught to read one word at a time, to stop reading at the end of a line until they reach the left side of the page again, and, worst of all, to say the words out loud in their head. All of these practices are exactly the opposite of the reality of the way our brains want information delivered.

Researchers have found that the reality is that the faster you read, the more you remember. It’s the way our brains are designed. In school, kids are taught to read one word at a time, to stop reading at the end of a line until they reach the left side of the page again, and, worst of all, to say the words out loud in their head. All of these practices are exactly the opposite of the reality of the way our brains want information delivered.

Personal Pronoun "I" is Capitalized?Not only is this affecting usage skills, but students have no idea that the personal pronoun “I” is supposed to be capitalized when it is used. Another common mistake that is closely related to capitalizing the personal pronoun, is the capitalization of first letters of the first word that begins sentences.This emanates from students who do not take the time to properly capitalize their letters when they are texting because it takes too much time.slide 5 of 6Lack of PunctuationAnother negative effect that texting is having on students is the lack of punctuation. Now, punctuation is limited on cellular device keypads, but to students, the punctuation that appears is nonexistent. If they are not going to take the time to capitalize letters, they certainly are not going to take the time to punctuate their sentences. The result is that students are so used to texting that when they must complete a formal writing assignment for their English class, they can not transition between formal and informal writing. The result is that students just run together their sentences and phrases, thus omitting proper punctuation. slide 6 of 6Texting Makes Teaching ToughNow, I realize that text messaging is not solely responsible for this shortcoming, but emailing, internet searches, and instant messaging have all contributed to the demise of students' writing abilities. Such technological innovations are useful, but for teachers, it makes them work twice as hard. One solution to this problem is to address the impact of technology on students before each formal writing assignment and emphasize the need to write differently in different circumstances.