What's with the spelling problem?????

Question

Has anyone noticed what terrible spellers our children are? What's the deal? Is spelling not taught in school these days? From the way some of these questions are written, it is obviously NOT. Do you think spell check has added to this problem?

Answer 1

I have noticed the same thing. Apparently there is no longer any emphasis on correst spelling or grammar in school these days. In older times you could write a ggreat paper then drop down to a B- due to poor spelling. I see solid A's now for computer printed papers filled with typos. Either the teachers are not reading them or they chose to ignore the poor grammar. The net result is generation after generation of students who cannot read or speak well.

If I try to correct anyone, they answer "Oh you know what I mean."
Maybe, I can't be certain unless you say exactly what you mean. I can't help the world but I make sure the children in my family don't suffer those problems. My parents taught all of us well, we are teaching our children just as well.

And young lady, do not be so arrogant when communicating with older people. Attending a good school has nothing to do with it. My parents were poor and uneducated (as were all Blacks in this country in the 50's) but books are cheap. They taught us to read before we went to school. I was reading before I turned 3, writing (not printing) before kindergarten.

Answer 2

Hi ! This is Robinka. I am a student reading in class eight. Well, I am going to answer your question. Don't be worried if you are not good in spelling. As, practice makes the man perfect, so be much more active in correcting your spelling. At first you have to write the spelling according to it's pronounciation. Just pronounce the word once and think which letters are needed to form that word . And for better spelling you can sometime check out dictionaries. And go one seeing dictionery in your leisure time. And what lesson you are going to read underline the difficult words with pencil and write once in some copy once by looking and then next time go on writing until you didn't memorize it. Ok , i just give you soem idea! I hope you follow it!

Answer 3

Hey now.

The first part of Ginevra's comment is good (though I'm not saying your kids' schools are bad). Who says kids can't spell anymore? We had spelling tests in school.

Most of the people on here who type here just type things like "i want 2 kno if u lik the beatles???" because it saves time and since they're not being graded (or judged, or at least that's what I thought until reading this) on their grammar. When I text people on my phone I type like that because otherwise it's a pain.

Sure, I can't spell some words. But I think it's kind of good that schools aren't prioritizing grammar and spelling. It's BORING as can be for the kids (nothing is worse than grammar) and schools have moved past the three R's (Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmatic) being the complete curriculum. Now there are more interesting and rewarding subjects.

Spell checks are great because nobody's perfect. It makes typing a lot easier, and I've personally learned how to spell certain words just because they get a little red squiggly under them in Word.

And didn't your parents say the same thing when you were in school? =) Just kidding. But seriously, lighten up...I feel like all my old English teachers are having a meeting and using very formal and proper language for the internet.

Answer 4

When I attended school, we had a special time set aside for spelling. Misspelled words were not overlooked, and it counted on all tests. Not just the spelling tests.
When my children started school, they were taught to spell words as they sounded. It made me furious that poor spelling was of little consequence. At home, I wouldn't let them get away with that. I checked homework every night. If I found a word not spelled correctly, they had to look it up in a dictionary and do it right.
I think text messaging encourages a lackadaisical attitude toward correct spelling also.
I wish some of these people WOULD use spell check. I can't understand what they mean half the time.

Answer 5

I don't think spelling has been formally taught in school for decades. Spell check has contributed to the problem in two ways. 1) By extensively relying on spell check, when placed in a situation where there is no spell check to "fall back on", the writer is at a total loss. 2) Because spell check is not the same as grammar check, people run a spell check and think the document is correct when it very likely isn't - spell check won't tell you if you have the right homonym.

Answer 6

Until a few years back, I was a good speller. I guess I'm fuzzy. Spell Check ought to be kicked to Kingdom Come. I've used it in the past and two things have happened: 1. I've had to call tech support to help fix the internet problem IT created. 2. It only showed a wavy line under the SUPPOSED problem word. I'm not being witchy. I KNEW that was the PROBLEM word before I asked IT. How did I fix the problem if Spell Check only underlined the word that I needed help with? The best experience with the device yet: It underlined MY LAST NAME!!! I SWEAR to you. What dumb *** wouldn't know how to spell their name?! Good grief!

Answer 7

I've noticed a real deterioration of spelling, and especially a lot of careless spelling on Y!A. I can forgive the occasional typo or spelling error. I make them too. But some of the questions are almost impossible to decipher. We haven't even touched grammar and sentence structure. How many times have you seen "it's" used as a possessive? I really worry about what students are being taught.

Answer 8

Education has really slipped compared to what it used to be. Classrooms are too crowded. Most of the kids do not speak English (at least in California, and spreading to the other states) so the teachers have an incredibly difficult job teaching kids. Besides that schools have become war zones. Most of the kids have no interest in attending, and this attitude is supported by their parents. The parents in California support student walkouts to rally for citizenship instead of staying in school to better themselves. I could go on and on but don't get me started!!!

Answer 9

I definitely think this problem is all about attention to detail. Driving around I see people "cheating" on the less important rules all day long - we're a fast paced society, and it's all about doing it as quickly as possible. As such, our kids are in a race, and not worried about quality so much as quantity.

And yes, spell check is awful for this problem.

Answer 10

I'm in middle school, and they don't teach spelling there! I totally understand what you are concerned about, my friends send terribly spelled e-mails!