Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've worked in public schools (as a librarian), and sadly have to agree with you. Luckily MOST of the teachers I knew were adept at spelling/grammar, but I was shocked by how many were not. I mean, really?? Your job is to educate children, and you don't even know the difference between your & you're? I have a few teacher friends & family members on Facebook, and want to smack them whenever I see mistakes like that in their posts.
I know the difference between there, their, and they're, but I will still make the mistake when writing, typically between there and their.
Heck, it took me awhile to figure out the difference between its and it's. It's is not possessive, but a contraction. Another stupid English rule that doesn't make sense.
Plus, the difference between there and their is not one of spelling, but of context. We could actually ban the use of their and simply use there and the English language would not be diminished since those words derive their meaning from contextual use rather than spelling.
The English language is riddled with these issues.
Last edited by A Common Anomaly; 02-04-2013 at 08:40 PM..
Reason: forget an important word in a sentence...lol
I've read a lot of threads on CD by and about people either looking for a job (unemployed) or people looking for a better job. Many of these people, if their writing examples on CD are any indication, have only a very basic understanding of English. For example, when mentioning money, the put the dollar sign on the right instead of the left. They have paragraphs that are just one long sentence. They can't spell. They don't know when to capitalize. Etc.... I get the idea that a lot of these people are very young (late teens, early 20s). Some might not be native English speakers. I should say this isn't a new issue. I was in a hiring position years ago and have had people fill out applications who couldn't spell the word "school". But are people this dense? Don't they realize some basic skills are required?
I know exactly what you mean. There's a great deal of illiteracy in this country, and I'm not referring to immigrants, who at least have the excuse that they speak at least another language and are in the process of learning a second or third. I'm referring to people born in this country.
A great deal of the problem is that kids aren't required to read. Reading, I've found, is the easiest way people pick up grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and all the accoutrements of the language. No reading, results in poor speaking and writing skills. Sitting in school is not enough. Teachers can't surgically implant knowledge into brains that refuse to do homework, refuse to study, and don't read. The work has to be done. I blame parents for allowing kids to do none of the work required for learning.
There's no excuse for any American born in this country to use "irregardless" (rather than regardless), "would of" (rather than would've or would have), "might could" (rather than might), "I seen you" (rather than I saw you), "Their delicious!" (rather than they're delicious), and the one that aggravates the hell out of me - apostrophes where they don't belong, and missing apostrophes:
Who's bike is that? (Rather than "Whose bike is that?")
It's fleece was white as snow (Rather than "Its fleece was white as snow")
Your my brother (Rather than "You're my brother")
Sign's for sale (Rather than "signs for sale")
I know exactly what you mean. There's a great deal of illiteracy in this country, and I'm not referring to immigrants, who at least have the excuse that they speak at least another language and are in the process of learning a second or third. I'm referring to people born in this country.
A great deal of the problem is that kids aren't required to read. Reading, I've found, is the easiest way people pick up grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and all the accoutrements of the language. No reading, results in poor speaking and writing skills. Sitting in school is not enough. Teachers can't surgically implant knowledge into brains that refuse to do homework, refuse to study, and don't read. The work has to be done. I blame parents for allowing kids to do none of the work required for learning.
There's no excuse for any American born in this country to use "irregardless" (rather than regardless), "would of" (rather than would've or would have), "might could" (rather than might), "I seen you" (rather than I saw you), "Their delicious!" (rather than they're delicious), and the one that aggravates the hell out of me - apostrophes where they don't belong, and missing apostrophes:
Who's bike is that? (Rather than "Whose bike is that?")
It's fleece was white as snow (Rather than "Its fleece was white as snow")
Your my brother (Rather than "You're my brother")
Sign's for sale (Rather than "signs for sale")
I can go on indefinitely. It's endless.
I saw an add on Craigslist for a wrought iron table - but the poster spelled it "rot" iron.
I'm just teasing you, but do understand what you're saying... as Dale Cooper mentioned above, I think texting and "shorthand" typing has had a major impact on writing skills. I guess those of us over age ~30 have an advantage, since those forms of communication didn't exist when we were young - so we were actually required to learn proper spelling & grammar, especially since many of us didn't even have computers/spell-check to help. Remember the days of hand-writing exercises? I think they're dead and gone now.
Oh, yes, I remember. I never held my pencil the correct way, according to the teachers, and they were always on me about it.
As for the computer keyboard issue - I can relate. I recently got a new laptop and the feel it totally different from my old one. Plus I have arthritis in my fingers. Sometimes I make the dog's dinner out of a sentence the first time.
A great deal of the problem is that kids aren't required to read. Reading, I've found, is the easiest way people pick up grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and all the accoutrements of the language. No reading, results in poor speaking and writing skills. Sitting in school is not enough. Teachers can't surgically implant knowledge into brains that refuse to do homework, refuse to study, and don't read. The work has to be done. I blame parents for allowing kids to do none of the work required for learning.
I read well over a hundred books in my high school career (mostly as a junior and a senior); from Louis L'Amour to Dostoyevsky and I was still a bad writer and scored low in reading comprehension skills. Then again, I always found those reading comprehension tests to be riddled with bombastic and circuitous language that never appealed to me. If you want to make a point, then why not cut chase?
Plus, reading Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, and other classical writers was not a good way to acquire skills in grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and other accoutrements of language. These writers could take a simple sentence and turn it into page or at least a paragraph.
Perhaps some people can absorb good writing through reading, but I had to achieve it through brute force - writing, writing, writing. Then again, different people learn differently.
Quote:
There's no excuse for any American born in this country to use "irregardless" (rather than regardless), "would of" (rather than would've or would have), "might could" (rather than might), "I seen you" (rather than I saw you), "Their delicious!" (rather than they're delicious), and the one that aggravates the hell out of me - apostrophes where they don't belong, and missing apostrophes:
Who's bike is that? (Rather than "Whose bike is that?")
It's fleece was white as snow (Rather than "Its fleece was white as snow")
Your my brother (Rather than "You're my brother")
Sign's for sale (Rather than "signs for sale")
I can go on indefinitely. It's endless.
Ramble on all about all the improper uses of grammar rather than recognizing that the English language is wrought with grammatical peculiarities that don't make much sense - knock yourself out via a self-aggrandizing behavior rather than showing a hint of humility that the English language often lacks rhyme and reason.
I think somebody needs to invest in a new keyboard (or computer).
They taught typing skills to both boys & girls when I was in elementary school, which would have been the 1980s... and I wish they still did! I'm an incredibly fast typist, averaging around 85-90wpm with 99% accuracy, and thank my typing classes (plus some natural skill) for that. Even my 65 year-old boss was impressed the first time she saw me type! She asked if my fingers were smoking, LOL.
Before I retired I typically typed over 100 wpm. I attributed it to taking piano lessons my entire childhood.
Before I retired I typically typed over 100 wpm. I attributed it to taking piano lessons my entire childhood.
My mother was a speed demon typist and a life long piano player. I, on the other hand, type in modified hunt-and-peck and made some poor woman give up teaching piano. Maybe you are on to something there.
If you axe me, the two extra question marks are redundant.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
