Totes Amaze!

What is it with British television insisting on appearing cool and using language that quite frankly makes me cringe. I've noticed for a few years that text speak and slang have been making their way into programmes aimed at children and teenagers which is bad enough but I understand that they have a target audience and must cater to them. However it seems nothing is safe now.

I have watched a show called This Morning for many years, it is daily light entertainment and aimed at adults. It includes informative discussion and debate, interesting subjects and it's presented by people who are articulate and educated. However it has now lowered itself by allowing people to present who simply cannot speak English correctly (or choose not to). One competition prize is described as being 'totes amaze' and it honestly makes me cringe.

The state of our education system is constantly in question and one of the subjects most often debated is English. Our current school leavers are declared, by small business owners and multimillion pound corporations alike, as unprepared for the work force and unable to spell, punctuate or use correct grammar. These are children who have spent years going through our education system and yet are apparently deemed uneducated by the national workforce. We shake our heads, the Government promises changes and pumps millions of pounds into reforming the National Curriculum. So what is the problem? Why is nothing changing?

If the media makes incorrect English the norm then is it any wonder that children can't form proper sentences. I'm not completely against slang, and in the correct context such as a drama or play it can be used well. However to use it when presenting what is intended as a quality production is very wrong and misguided.  Until we begin to lead by example I fear nothing will change and children's skills in speech and the written word will continue to decline. We need to use television as a positive influence in the lives of children, so I beg don't dumb it down but raise it up.