Gifted children have suffered because recent decades have seen the decline of formal language study in American schools. Every element of formal language study has been attacked; vocabulary, grammar, and academic writing have all been not only neglected but denounced. Many school systems discontinued the study of traditional grammar. Classic literature was replaced with high-interest reading. Serious evaluation of student writing and correction of student errors has been portrayed as inappropriate and even abusive. In the process, schools themselves have become the centers of anti-intellectual influence. It is time to articulate the value of academic language standards.