I know it's a done topic, but, I'm appalled at the poor spelling here...?

Question

My question is, when, exactly, did English standards start to fall in U.S. schools?

(And, that is a serious question; many of us here who were educated in the 50s, 60s and early 70s would have been left back a grade for the errors we see here nightly).

Incidentally, there is a difference between errors made by speakers of English as a second/foreign language, and mistakes made by uneducated native speakers; I know because I taught EFL for many years.

KB9KBU: I have great respect for Ham operators. Hams are exempt from all grammar & spelling laws, as far as I'm concerned! (88s!)

Answer 1

The grammar is atrocious too. I, many times, do not understand the question. But, there are also many people on this site whose first language is not English and also not American. I think the British would have a word or two about how our English is compared to theirs as well. I think some tolerance is in order for that, but I agree with you100% that the American education system has dropped standards by leaps and bounds!

btw, I was educated much later than the early 70s, but I'm not taking it personally.

Answer 2

It's not only the spelling which is poor but the grammar as well. There are errors in your writing, too, or hadn't you noticed?

If I clean it up some and don't change the wording, then it should read as the following:

I know it's a done topic, but I'm appalled at the poor spelling here.
My question is, "When exactly did English standards start to fail in U.S. schools?"

(And that is a serious question. Many of us here who were educated in the '50's, '60's and early '70's would have been left back a grade for the errors we see here nightly).

Answer 3

Where have you been for the past 30 years? It's a good idea to keep up with popular culture so you have an idea about the state of your country. Once in a while, watch a reality TV show, take in a Hollywood blockbuster movie, ride the subway, pay attention to political campaign adds, read the local news paper as well as the tabloid headlines while your waiting in the checkout line, and keep up with the news (some people still believe we went to Iraq to fight terrorism).

It's not just spelling and grammar. Our country has a serious problem.

Answer 4

I could take this personally. I graduated in '86. Not only do I spell correctly, but I also use correct grammar and punctuation.

The standards didn't start falling until this "No Child Left Behind" crap. Instead of doing what it was intended to do, it has schools passing kids to the next grade when they didn't learn what they should have learned and should have been kept in the previous grade level. It sickens me that we live in one of the most powerful nations in the world, and yet, our kids don't know the proper usage or spelling of words we hear every day.

I did some of my university studies in England, and they are appalled at our misuse of the English language.

Answer 5

I'm with you, I'm appalled at the poor spelling and terrible use of grammar people show today. I always take pride in being a good speller. I've worked at a school for 22 years and I'm always surprised at what the children don't know. I think maybe the poor teachers have to teach to a test and the kids are missing the old basic education of years past. I pray it changes, but I don't think it will anytime soon.

Answer 6

You are right about the spelling. Some people spell the way they speak, which is appalling in some cases. It may also be a case of people not being very adept on the keyboard. They type too fast and don't proof-read. I think since the advent of the net kids actually read more.

Answer 7

Oh snap...thank you for bringing this up and saying what many of us wanted to say. I mean the occasional typo is one thing, but it is absolutely insane how bad it is with these kids now. And the really sad part is that you can spell check it right on here.

I am not sure if they are just really stupid or really lazy, but either way it is not a good sign for the future of our country.

Answer 8

To Jessica S ....... You mentioned spelling, why did you spell "poor" like "pore" ? You said " The pour spelling. I think you meant the poor spelling, did't you ?
Maybe it was a typo, a lot of people do hit the wrong buttons by accident. Nobody's perfect.
As an amateur radio operator, we use a lot short spelling i.e.: cud for could and others. The reason, when sending morse code . You save air time. Give us amateur radio operators some lee-way, please.

Answer 9

It seems like they don't even care any more. I use the "check spelling" every time, even if I don't need it. These people are just plain careless and dumb. I think nowadays the kids really don't care about spelling. There are more important things like friends and being cool. Education is so necessary. There are going to be alot of dumb adults out there soon. I agree with you.

Answer 10

I don't think it is so much the spelling as the typing. People get in a rush and don't bother to proofread their writing before posting it. I think they consider typing an elective course rather than a mandatory class. I know it was optional when I went to highschool. I learned on my own. I think it is so important to learn typing since that is one skill that is needed for all these kids in the future since everything is going to computers. I know some kids have bad spelling. My Dad was always a stickler for spelling. I proofread all my husbands papers-hehe. He doesn't mind.