Young people can't SPELL !?

Question

Why is it, that the younger generation of today, doesn't do well in the schools and absolutely can not spell worth a damn ? Spelling is important in any job. How do you people cope with that ?

Punctuation counts too people !

I have yet to find a young person that knows how to spell. There are exceptions to any rule, but the majority can not spell. That's a fact !

Answer 1

I barely cope, it drives me nuts. I've gotten emails from my interns with things like "u" for "you" and "wat" instead of "what."

I have to say, they don't last long where I work, they are politely asked to leave. It's not only just unprofessional, it displays a tendency towards laziness and no company is impressed by that.

Answer 2

It's not that the younger generation can't spell. It's that they're mostly too lazy to bother learning how to do it without the aid of things like spell checkers. Like you said, there are exceptions to that, but they're few and far between. I think whoever posted the response saying that a job "is a necessary evil, so why should I care about something that'll be important when I have one?"

Perhaps, in a few years, someone will post a question along the lines of "due u regrat ont leernin hao 2 spel n skul?"

Answer 3

1) They don't think it is important. They feel that as long as you can figure it out, that makes it OK.
2) Many teachers these days grade 50% on neatness. At least, that's what they do in my local schools. Therefore, spelling does not carry much weight in a grade.
3) So much emphasis is placed on their "social adjustment", that learning and learning how to learn takes second place.

I see commercials that have gross misspellings in them, not just deliberate word-play. I see horrible misspellings on the news creepers and in the graphics used in the broadcasts. The message is that spelling is not important.

My boss got a new illuminated sign to put up over the store. I had to explain the difference between "stationary" and "stationery" to him and the people who made the sign. You'll be pleased to know that I was successful in making them redo the sign.

I don't know how you cope with it. It drives me up the wall.

P.S. I tested the Spell Check on the computer at work with a few commonly misspelled words. It didn't catch several of them. When I entered "sherbet" it gave me "she-bat"!! Since then, I have relied solely on my trusty dictionary.

Answer 4

I can't tell whether they really spell that bad or if it's something more sinister, like thinking it is cute to misspell everything. The latter seems to be the case for several Anwers users. As far as spelling on the job goes, most people seem to think that spell-check is an acceptable substitute for learning to spell.

I also think poor spelling is learned just like good spelling--by reading. If everything you read is crap on the internet, that's what you're going to learn.

It's my opinion that if people learned to spell and paid attention in high school (i.e. learn to write persuasively, learn basic things about the government), they'd be ahead of 97% of the American public. I have advanced degrees, but about 90% of the knowledge I need to excel in the working world is basic stuff learned for free in public high school.

Answer 5

When I was in school, a lot of emphasis was put on spelling. We had weekly spelling bees, drilled our spelling words out loud and what we got wrong on the test, we had to write 20 times so that we would remember how to spell it.
A big problem today is that when kids get answers wrong on a test, they don't go back over it or give them work to reinforce the lesson and help them to get it right, they just move on- you failed it, oh well, too bad!
Another problem is way too much dependence on spell check- it is useful but should not do the work for you. I encourage my kids to go over their work and look for errors on their own, without spell and grammar check. This helps them to pay better attention to what they are doing.
The schools and parents have gotten a lazy, don't make them feel bad about themselves attitude towards teaching and students, if not encouraged to care about their work, are just not going to.

Answer 6

There are lots of adults that can't spell either. For the kids that don't spell well or at all, either they don't care or are being push through the school system. Lets face it schools have gotten much worse compared to a couple generations ago.
For those of you blaming it on spell check; I was one of those who was pushed through the school system. My mom finally took me out and homeschooled me. We were lucky enough to have a computer given to us and using spell check greatly improved my spelling.

Answer 7

I've read the other answers... L has just restored my faith in youth...
My answer is that more than fifty per cent just can't be bothered (Radiancias answer proves that). Another thirty % haven't been taught or studied properly. And the rest are the ones that will probably end up writing books worth reading, find fulfilling jobs (instead of necessary evils) and give us things worth knowing in the coming years!

Answer 8

That is a false statement. It is also very stereotypical to say this. Some of the younger generation choose not to spell correctly by choice or laziness, and use alot of abbreviations to shorten things up. I agree that is it important to be able to spell correctly for a job, but I disagree that younger people don't know how to spell, because it simply isn't true.

Answer 9

I'm 20. I can spell, and use correct grammar better than most people - including my direct superiors at work.
Oh, and "cannot" is usually one word.

Answer 10

The problem is that school are focusing on Literacy and Language Programs but are not making Spelling and Language part of it, you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Answer 11

The American Educational System has been failing for the last 30+ years. Thank the Liberal 'Progressive' mindset that has been in effect all of that time.