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When spelling is taught in a "traditional" manner with a list on Monday and a test on Friday, aren't you in essence teaching to the test? Memorize a list of words for a Friday test that a student may or may not need in writing and the student will forget the words by the following week.
How many students memorize a list and then misspell the words in their drafts later? I would rather grade a student on his ability to recognize misspelled words in his writing and his ability to correct them (or attempt to correct them) rather than his ability to memorize a list.
When spelling is taught in a "traditional" manner with a list on Monday and a test on Friday, aren't you in essence teaching to the test? Memorize a list of words for a Friday test that a student may or may not need in writing and the student will forget the words by the following week.
How many students memorize a list and then misspell the words in their drafts later? I would rather grade a student on his ability to recognize misspelled words in his writing and his ability to correct them (or attempt to correct them) rather than his ability to memorize a list.
Is teaching to the test always bad? Most people find they eventually have to memorize certain things in the field they choose. Take a class like anatomy & physiology, do people just learn the subject or do they start by memorizing the information for each test. Someone who goes on to work with the structure and function of the human body retains what they have learned and develops a more in-depth understanding.
Memorizing is simply a jump start on learning. By memorizing a list of spelling words, you develop a larger vocabulary of words that you are comfortable writing and speaking. You learn rules for how words are spelled and this translates into knowing how to spell a much larger list of words than you are ever tested.
Of course with many students, they will not retain spelling or many of the other subjects that are taught in school. The person who reads a lot and is not too lazy to look up words in the dictionary or on-line will continue to increase their spelling ability and vocabulary. The fact that some students do not retain what they are taught is not a reason not to teach a subject. The question is, how much time should be devoted to formal spelling instruction? It doesn't appear to me that excessive time in the school day is devoted to spelling.
When spelling is taught in a "traditional" manner with a list on Monday and a test on Friday, aren't you in essence teaching to the test?...
Why can't we recognize the "Spelling Test" as a way to increase vocabulary? Many students will read and increase their vocabulary naturally. However, some will only increase their vocabulary through these "Spelling Tests."
My kids have never been to public school. They went to private school until 8th grade, which was as far as they could go in this particular school. They are now home schooled and are 2 grades ahead of pulic school. As far as I'm concerned, public schools as a whole, have failed our children. Seems like everything the government touches turns out to be a disaster and the dumbing down of each sucessive generation proves my point.
It has nothing to do with the government; it's the general public that lowers the standards, something that private schools don't have to deal with.
No the public does not lower the standards.
Do you get to vote on curriculum ?
Did you get to vote on NCLB ?
The Fed getting involved has done this.
They dangle $$$$ to states and schools "if they do X".
And then they threaten to take it away if they don't meet the Fed's expectations.
My kids have never been to public school. They went to private school until 8th grade, which was as far as they could go in this particular school. They are now home schooled and are 2 grades ahead of pulic school. As far as I'm concerned, public schools as a whole, have failed our children. Seems like everything the government touches turns out to be a disaster and the dumbing down of each sucessive generation proves my point.
Kind of ironic you have at least two misspellings in your post and you're talking about how dumb public school students are. I went to one of the worst public school districts in the country and still went to college and got a job. I like how parents expect the school to do everything for them. At my school, only half the kids showed up for class and the other half threatened to kill the teacher. Kids were making shanks in class. To no one's surprise, these kids lacked parental guidance. It's not PC to look at the parents when their children struggle. It's also not PC to admit that some children are just dumb.
I don't understand the big issue about spelling. Things are going digital and if your son is in the first grade now, by the time he's college age we'll be in an even more digital age. The concern about the use of different words wouldn't even fall under spelling. That would be grammar where you are taught the appropriate uses of "there, their, they're" and things like that. When I was in high school it was around the beginning of the tech boom. We didn't have computers in class. I learned cursive and took spelling tests and all that stuff. None of it did any good when I graduated. I had to catch up on all the tech in college and in my 20's. I actually work in the communications department for a large company and I have yet to see any documents that are handwritten anymore.
No the public does not lower the standards. Do you get to vote on curriculum ? Did you get to vote on NCLB ?
Public schools don't get to "select" students, which is the major reason that standards are lowered and parents take their kids out of the public school system.
NCLB was put in place to help the very children who don't have the advantage of being "selected out." Not that it's been successful.
Public schools don't get to "select" students, which is the major reason that standards are lowered and parents take their kids out of the public school system.
NCLB was put in place to help the very children who don't have the advantage of being "selected out." Not that it's been successful.
And states got punished if these kids didn't pass.
The Fed threatened to hold back money if the kids didn't pass.
So the bar got lowered so that "No Child is Left Behind".
And states got punished if these kids didn't pass.
The Fed threatened to hold back money if the kids didn't pass.
So the bar got lowered so that "No Child is Left Behind".
I keep tellin you guys and tellin you guys that they renamed it to "No child gets ahead."
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