Is spelling really as important as we make it out to be?
Learning to spell correctly has always been very important to me. In school we were taught the spelling rules and we were in deep trouble if we did not use the rules when writing. I can remember my grade seven teacher had a wooden plank, and we were so scared of being punished that we made sure to learn those rules. Even today I can still recite all the rules. I just can't figure out if corporal punishment was in fact a good or a bad thing. Even though I am totally against corporal punishment today, it really worked on some kids back in the days.
We did not have many rights as kids and corporal punishment was used often in schools to ensure proper discipline. Later on kids suddenly received all these human rights and corporal punishment is now banned and totally against the law. Good riddance!
Let me get back to the spelling issue...
Even though these rules were forced onto us, I believe that spelling is of utter importance. Learning to spell helps to add the cement between letters and sounds and this improves how we read and write. If a student can spell a word correctly it is quite certain that he would be able to identify and pronounce this word correctly, hence making him read with more comprehension.
There are so many words in the English language that can confuse kids, and if they don't spell correctly their sentences might have a totally different meaning altogether. If the wrong spelling is used in a sentence it would be really difficult to differentiate the meaning.
Even though I am fanatic about spelling, I have found this interesting paragraph on the internet and it just shows us that it doesn't matter in which order we put the letters of a word, we can still make out the sentence.
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch by the Lngiusiitc Dptanmeret at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Isn't this interesting?
What kills me today, is the new language that kids developed. I must plead guilty on this. I often use the abbreviation LOL which means laughing out loud. What amazes me is that I have never typed out the words "laughing out loud" to anyone. Ever since I found out what LOL means, I have used it more and more. It is easy to type and everyone knows what it means. Kids start using these words or rather abbreviations because it shortens their text messages and we all know that texting is the most important thing on a student's mind.
This is a post for another day...happy steeming! Please enjoy this video as I absolutely love this and it totally express the way I feel.
Interesting post. I think spelling is quite important, but we have to respect that it's difficult for some people, and try not to be language nazis. And now we have autocorrect, so no worries, right?
On the topic of corporal punishment, the research is quite clear on that one, it's definitely bad for children. Yes, it might work on some, but to what cost?
It's not only that it's traumatizing, it also teaches the child to use violence as a means to an end. And it tries to teach the child to respect authority based on fear.
Needless to say, this often backfires, and the children rebel against the authority, often in a violent way, by for example breaking windows, shoplifting, fighting, setting the school on fire, or sometimes beating up the teacher as revenge.
When I was in school, in sixth grade we had a horrible old hag as a teacher(she started in sixth grade) and she pulled my ear at one occasion. I immediately retaliated by smacking her over the head with a plastic bag,containing a shampoo bottle. I was brought in to the principal, with my parents. But the teacher got no reprimand. A similar occurrence happened again later with a classmate, she pulled his hair, he gave her a smack in the face. We were both stronger than her, and we would take no shit.
To this day,although I'm a pacifist, when I think about it, all I feel is,"that evil old hag got what she deserved."
That is true. It was terrible. There were definitely better ways to get us to learn. I am glad it is no longer allowed. I would've killed any teacher that touched my own children! We had teachers throwing us with their whiteboard dusters. Resulting in students with wounds that needed stitches. Anyways... it's gone now for good. Glad it is!
Oh and English is also not my native language. It is my second language.
@giantbear, thanks for sharing. I took an English class 9 years ago, people was making fun of me when I confused to say "heavy cream = happy cream, sheet of paper = shit of paper. (pardon me)
Ha ha...well you learned didn't you? That is the most important!
A lot.
"I could care care less means you do care" - whahaha!!! So using that next time!!
Great post!! Resteemed :)
I honestly couldn't spell in school (even though I was an "A" student)... Funny enough, as soon as I left school, I was able to spell - whahaha :)
I always care. It's because you were no longer forced to AND now you actually don't have to prove yourself to anyone. Thanks for the resteem!
i am glad that corporate punishment is no more part of the law, i dont doubt that it might be helpful however i dont like the idea of using force to achieve something or to imprint an order in a persons brain. i love the idea of spelling words correctly as it is easier to read and understand , and funny i guess when spelled incorrectly. however its not really a must as i feel sometimes our brains allow us to understand even if the spelling is not completely correct.
Very true but unfortunately I am quite fanatic about spelling. I am a freak...lol
Hehehehehe each person what they value most. :-)
as a writer, poor grammar and bad spelling are like nails on a chalkboard to me. especially when someone's trying to convince me of something (political argument, movie/book discussion, etc.)...then, i just can't take them seriously. ESPECIALLY if it's their native language.
That I agree with but I would much rather take the nails in a chalkboard!
ditto! :P
I love words and I like them written correctly! I used to spend a lot of hours just reading the dictionaries. These days, most kids ( even those in my age bracket) can't spell correctly. Its quite sad and I think its due to the frequent use of abbreviations. I'm also guilty of this sadly, these days I have to double check my words😳. Great Post
Thanks, some kids don't know how a dictionary works...how sad is that? Spell check is the in thing now!
That's just insane😱
Back wen I wuz a kid, I spelt alot of stuff rong. Butt now my gramer is much beter!
You read a lot so you have NO excuse. You had no teacher to force you. BUT this teacher wants to know if the "kid" that can't spell stuff acually went to the DOCTOR????????? Hmmm???
Im sory! I spelt grammer rong I no it haz to m's! I'm much better today, so I think I'm going to spend the day writing... I have tomorrow's Night Gods close to being finished!
I don'want you dying before you actually finish that story. Better go to the doctor!!!!!!! Just because you are a dolphin now doesn't make you healthy all of a sudden
Well, in dolphin years, I'm already 175... so!
O I am also still old school - I like correct spelling, but times sure have changed
I don't care! Rules are rules...lol
Lol - it's easier to type and socially accepted abbreviation. @giantbear, I love the dancing letters. I have been accused of poor grammar recently, I hope to brush up on it soon.
Ignorance is bliss
Great post and really enjoyed the video it's the first time i've seen it and i was surprised at how easy i could read the paragraph that was misspelt.
It's a great video! I give this to my students every first day of term. Yes that paragraph is amazing!