Many times parents feel like they have no idea what their kids are talking about.
Lately, some teachers have no idea what their students are writing about.
School is almost out for the year and for many teachers, it's a chance to brush up on their skills.
For some, maybe to learn a new language.
It's so commonplace now, we barely even notice it.
Teenagers, masters of the new age shorthand, are texting each other at amazing speed.
So popular, it is the engine driving a whole new wave of consumers, with a language all their own.
And others have been quick to market to this audience.
A recent advertisement by Thomas More College uses text shorthand to ask the question 'are you ready?'.
And among the rows of fiction in your neighborhood book stores, you'll find three New York Times bestsellers, all by the same author and all written in IM text language.
So prevalent is texting, teachers are seeing the by-product in the work turned in by their students.
Sara Goodman said, "I have definitely seen an increase in this type of shorthand. They're using it pretty much everywhere. It's just seeped into their daily language."
Beth Rimer is with the Ohio Writing Project at Miami University, a group that routinely offers writing workshops to teachers.
"Teenagers will always have, or adolescents will always have a lingo that's different than the adults lingo...and I think that's ok."
Given the popularity of texting and instant messaging, she said it's no surprise that educators are finding more of the language in school classwork.
"They use it as a communication tool and, so when they write quickly, they will in a journal or informal writing assignment, it will come out as their shorthand for what they write."
Rather than be viewed as a negative, Rimer said at least kids are communicating . . . even if we don't always know what about.
"It is language they're familiar with, and it is language that pops up in writing, but what it really does is it provides teachers a tool to talk about valid writing, pieces of the process."
The Ohio Writing Project is about to kick off their summer workshops and Beth Rimer said that text shorthand in school work is sure to be a topic of discussion.
