Ralph and Roxane got me going, so "it's not my fault" (the theme for this era)
The children of the baby boomers rode an economic high, where they had/received everything without having to exert themselves (at either learning or working) for it! [Caveat: not ALL of them]
My children were shown movies in class rather than learning to read! When did "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" become part of "History" curriculum??? Fortunately, my wife and I read a lot to the children growing up, and had them read also (aloud), so they did OK. But many entering the work force have very little initiative AND are not functionally literate (see Dave's definition).
Thank goodness for the sports page and the TV guide, they're the only things helping this generation know what "words" are.
Sorry for the rant