Do schools not teach or enforce spelling anymore?

Question

It's unbelievable how many people can't spell worth a crap around here. The majority of the questions and answers posted here contain misspelled words. Where has the discipline gone? There's even a spell checker on Yahoo Answers. I won't even get into punctuation and grammar.

Answer 1

I think that it's laziness created by the internet. I posed a similiar question myself when I first joined answers. Also, it's really the IM generation. When I taught junior high, kids would write "u" for you, and LOL on their papers. It's only a matter of time until those unconventional spellings enter the lexicon.

After all, language is a fluid concept that is always changing. It will adapt and swallow up many of the errors we see. Yet, I am just as irritated as you are. I find myself correcting errors as much as I am answering questions on here!

Answer 2

Here is the deal. As a social studies teacher when I grade papers I grade for content. I grade what my student is learning in my class. If we are learning about World War II and the student writes a great paper on World War II but their spelling is not great I am not going to mark off for their spelling. I am not a spelling teacher and I didn't teach a lesson on spelling. I will circle the word in hopes they will correct the word but it is more important that my students are understanding my subject. If you look across America there are many Americans young and old that do not know how to spell. It has nothing to do with schools, some people are good spellers and others are not. I am always checking my spelling, it is not because I went to a poor school or I am not smart, its because that is who I am. Schools focus more on content and less on rote learning. Spelling words is rote learning.

Answer 3

I know. It is really not seen as important in school anymore. Believe me, a special education teacher told me that and I totally disagree. I know I am not perfect, especially at some grammar rules like who and whom, but I learned and do know a lot from the older and wiser methods of teaching. Some how I caught on and just got it back then. It really comes in handy when students constantly ask me to spell things. I don't have to go to the computer to find out or to the dictionary too often. I feel sorry for the future generations. I guess sounding it out in writing is the best that some will ever do and know to do. That is so sad.

Answer 4

How, exactly, do you see gross mis spellings on this site as being indicative of a lack of instruction of spelling in schools?

Yes, spelling is a subject taught throughout elementary and into middl school. Yes, it is an actual subject, and spelling errors do count against students in their writing, etc.
Does that translate to what people type in here? No. You would be surprised by the difference in spelling, grammar,etc of some people between what they write in school, to family, to friends, and what they type on line, be it in a chat room or in a place like this.

An on line community is perceived (wrongly) to be a much more casual, no holds barred type of a place, where mis spellings and speaking in a more relaxed tone (much like they may formulate ideas in their minds prior to speaking) is acceptable.

It is not a fault of the educational system, it is a function of the lax attitude of a lot of people when they are on line.

Answer 5

Actually, spelling isn't taught in isolation in the way it used to be before. With spellcheck and dictionaries it just isn't as important to get a spelling list every week. Now, teaching vocabulary is more common. Since students are tested on word meanings, and changing meanings by adding prefixes and suffixes, etc., the kids don't need to know how to spell. The real thing is teaching kids how to use spellcheck.

Answer 6

Lets see, you expect people who are asking strangers for answers to their homework to actually care enough to use proper spelling and punctuation? Most of the questions are easily answered by typing in a search word in google, and they do not even do that. They want someone else to do the work, including spelling.

Answer 7

In one word, no.

What's in? Teaching vocabulary words.

What's out? Proper word spellings, grammar, punctuation, computer spell checkers, writing in cursive (my state) and using a dictionary.

My job will never become obsolete or taken over by robots.

P.S. When I feel like quitting, I watch the movie, "High School High".

Answer 8

Hmmm, you noticed that too....

I think the Internet, with email and instant chat, is the biggest reason not to "care" or try very hard. As long as people can make their point and communicate, they won't worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation. It's still the age of Instant Gratification.

Answer 9

I'm in my fifth year of university. I am studying Secondary Language Arts Education. Most of my classmates don't know the difference between "teachers", "teacher's" and "teachers'". Believe me, the problem isn't that spelling isn't taught- the problem is that a huge number of teachers have let their sloppy personal habits seep into their professional lives, and now those teachers have forgotten how to spell themselves. They can't teach what they don't know.

Answer 10

I agree, it's not just typos here, it's the worst spelling you can imagine. It seems as if people really can't spell and can't be bothered to use the spell checker.