why is it that the teachers today have so much trouble with spelling and grammar.?

Question

on report cards and any imformation sheets you can sit down and probably check off several mistakes. I know of a teacher who refuses to correct spelling as it decreases the childs willingness to try and use more extended words. what is the oint of that when you cannot work out what the child is trying to spell.

Answer 1

I am glad someone noticed! I have been teaching for more than 30 years. 90% of what I learned about spelling and grammar I learned in my parochial school before I got to 12 th grade. There was not ONE spelling or grammar class even offered at college when I got my teaching degree and master's. Now, multiply that by thousands of graduates times 30 years, add in the period of time when it was taboo to teach phonics , a dab of "invented spelling helps kids write," and ...well, it's a wonder teachers can even spell their own names.
Also , there was a study ( poorly done, in my opinion) but highly disseminated which touted such gems as " a child does not need to be able to read or know the meanings of the words on their spelling list." And, " Phonics makes children stutter, so only teach spelling by the whole words method." The whole word method... how long do you suppose it would take to spell every word in the dictionary?

However, hope springs eternal. Educators such as Marcia Henry, Louisa Moats, Stephen Tattum , Rebecca Sitton have used solid research to better understand our language , condense reliable rules to about one page of small type, six basic syllable rules, and lists of most often used words in writing.

Answer 2

I have always wondered this myself. As a college student (and grammar freak) I have often lost respect for teachers who use incorrect grammar and spellings. If a teacher (or professor) cannot spell basic words and employ correct basic grammar, why should I believe they are an effective teacher who is knowledgeable about their subject? The teacher who refuses to correct spelling is an idiot. Positive reinforcement is important but a child who cannot spell will never be able to read and recognize complex words and will fail in any environment where such skills are necessary. I believe this is an offshoot of a growing belief in schools that any negativity will somehow damage a child's self esteem. (For example, some schools prohibit grading in red pen, as this is deemed "too aggressive.") When someone finds out why we let the people who are educating the future generation slide by without being able to correctly write and spell, please tell me, as I would like to know.

Answer 3

There is a place for what is called "inventive spelling" in young childrens' education. The point is to get them to feel comfortable writing and then learning to spell correctly can come later, since so many kids end up having anxiety about writing itself. There comes a time though when spelling and grammar do need to be corrected and children need to learn the right way. In our society it is a disgrace the way people butcher the English language, the worst culprits being the editors of children's literature. How can children learn what is right when it's wrong in the books they read?!?

Answer 4

Math: He should not be getting docked factors because of "neatness". a baby can not help they way they write, if the writing develop into eligible then i might want to comprehend, yet not in case you may obviously see he has solved for and written the most suitable answer. English: it would want to relies upon on the words. If he's likewise attending to renowned words which might want to be capitalized, and different words that shouldn't then i will see her reasoning. If he's in basic terms attending to renowned customary words (not acceptable nouns) then he should not be docked factors as well. you in basic terms might want to prefer to remind your son now to not write the words with a capital letter, yet a minimum of a caution might want to easily accept first by employing the instructor and under no circumstances in basic terms dock factors even as it really is beside the point.

Answer 5

You're right, i mean i had this teacher in grade 7 that wrote on the chalkboard as messy as a second grader ( not over exagurating) he even admitted. So why is someone like that teaching us Language Arts anyways. I mean it's rediculas. But then again there are teachers that are really good so you can't say that about them all.
But i find that in Canada teacher;'s are more like that because in other countries they are not.

Answer 6

I agree with this and think it is unacceptable. I have noticed several of my teachers making MANY spelling and math mistakes while TEACHING to the kids. If they are teachers they should be fully qualified...meaning smart enough to know how to spell and not teach incorrect spelling to children!

Answer 7

The way I perceive that connundrum is simply our (society's) reducing persistence to "resort to the basics."
TO THIS DAY, I continually thank my Sophomore year High school English teacher for her "individual" method to explain how each lesson relates to [the core guidelines] in grammar and spelling.
Since the onset of INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS, many type-o's are so commonplace in today's verbal communications that many such errors are overseen in thier delivery.
Yes, it is a shame.

Answer 8

gayle, although spelling & correct grammar is important, but it doesn't matter as long as your student can understand the lesson that they had study. the issue here is "what is your native language as medium of instruction on your teaching" not language itself such as English, spanish, japanese etc. because we people in the world had different languages we are subject for correction if we are using foriegn or other languages.

Answer 9

That would explain a lot of questions in here. Way too many questions lack the knowledge of good grammar.

Answer 10

Well I think part of the problem is computers. Everyone uses the "spell check" feature. Well, almost everyone.