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I was quite surprised to learn that my granddaughter is told to just write her assigsnments down without worrying about spelling words correctly.
I remember quite clearly the spelling tests in third and fourth grade. I could look at a word and know if it was spelled correctly or not, because I had never seen it misspelled. Our teachers were always quite strict about looking a word up if we didn't know how to spell it. I might not know how to spell it, but I could recognize if it was misspelled.
How is my grandaughter to learn to recognize misspelled words if she keeps writing them incorrectly?
I think she should be corrected as soon as she misspells a word, so she learns how to spell it correctly, and gets it burned into her brain.
Is this just another way to dumbing down our citizens, or is there a good argument for letting kids feel OK about self-defined spelling rules?
The more often you see misspelled words the more likely you are to accept them. They should always be corrected. And proof-reading by a child is a skill they should learn.
Yes, let the original thought flow and have possible errors in spelling and grammar. But the author should always go back and reread and make corrections to improve its “beauty”.
In 1968-69 Mrs. Cosgrove's 3rd grade class had a spelling test every Friday before recess. After recess we got the tests back and were required to call out our grade for the teacher to write them in her book. Grades were E for Excellent, S for Satisfactory, and U.
The boys and girls kept score of who got the most E's (I was a reliable E for the boys' team). So yes, is does matter to the kids. Or at least it did.
AI is going to be doing jobs that require good spelling anyway, so I guess kids are now being prepared for that. Be lazy and "let someone else do it".
P.S. Our teacher was quirky in that she hated #2 pencils and forced everyone to buy a #4 pencil. I was a slacker in that regard and it wasn't until she gave me an S on the spelling test due to darkness which disappointed the other boys, that I had my parents buy me a #4 pencil.
Some educators feel that certain students are too stupid to learn to spell correctly.
So, they let those students spell words any way they feel is correct.
I think there is a broad, subconscious effort to make the majority lazy and unambitious*. I don't claim to know why that is.
Back in my day, the kids wanted to be good spellers and had an active, grass-roots competition to see if the boys or the girls were better (overall, the girls were). Today, kids are actively discouraged from being competitive.
*It's not just teachers who do this, and it's not just children who are encouraged to be lazy.
Last edited by jtab4994; 05-08-2023 at 08:34 AM..
Reason: Added * and footnote
I don't know how old your child is, but when mine were in kindergarden, they were encouraged to WRITE the words any way they wanted.
A lot of kindergardners already know their letters and how to write their letters, and already can read some words. When they're learning to read, they're seeing the words as they're supposed to be spelled.
From what I remember (my kids are adults now) the idea was to develop a love for language, and reading and writing, and at THAT age, not getting hung up (yet) on correct spelling.
My kids are pretty literate, and for awhile, my oldest was writing campaign literature...so they did ok.
The issue with spelling started a couple or three decades ago.
Maryland, for example, instituted a Functional Writing test that was a prompt which the students then wrote an essay for (Topic, Audience, Format, Purpose).
We were told that this was a writing exam and not a spelling test so it was to be graded "Holistically", what the kid wrote and not how he wrote it (grammar, spelling).
That bled over to other subjects so spelling in Social Studies and Science also wasn't taken into account.
That has been supported on here by various posters, a History test isn't a spelling or grammar test.
I also taught Hunter and Firearms Safety for MD DNR (volunteer). It was made quite clear that the written exam was not a Reading test so we started to have to read the test to students. I didn't have a big problem with that to an extent if the student was a bit older (7th grade, say. We had adults taking the course who couldn't read) but I did have an issue with dads bringing in their 5 year olds to take the course and having to read the test to them. I backed out of instructing when that started to happen too often.
I don't know how old your child is, but when mine were in kindergarden, they were encouraged to WRITE the words any way they wanted.
A lot of kindergardners already know their letters and how to write their letters, and already can read some words. When they're learning to read, they're seeing the words as they're supposed to be spelled.
From what I remember (my kids are adults now) the idea was to develop a love for language, and reading and writing, and at THAT age, not getting hung up (yet) on correct spelling.
My kids are pretty literate, and for awhile, my oldest was writing campaign literature...so they did ok.
I've heard that theory before, but I think kids can developed a love for language, reading, and writing, AND a love for proper spelling.
As others have said, the more you see a word spelled correctly, the more it gets burned into your brain correctly. I easily and always spot a misspelling a mile away. Your incorrect spelling of kindergarten jumped out at me instantly, no thought required.
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