Kweshun

[evilegg]

I dated a dude for many years while in my twenties whose mom was a third grade teacher and she had MAJOR ISSUES with allowing creative spelling, and it was very much encouraged in the lower grades of her school district. She said it led to the kids pronouncing the words wrong and not identifying related words, and that they essentially had to

Comments

[evilegg]

The kindergarten that did the phonics drills was a private church in AL. We moved to NY that year and I got to glue cotton balls to paper plates and shit

[skreidle]

What do I do, and wish teachers all did? Teach proper goddamn spelling, that's what. Phonics are useful, but only couched in Proper Goddamn Spelling.

Now, I do recall--in middle school--switching over from Spelling to Vocabulary. Each week, we'd have ten new words from the vocab workbook, which we had to learn the spelling, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and usage. Good stuff.

[evilegg]

What happens at T's school? I know he reads a lot (and it sounds like well above grade level), but how does he write?

[skreidle]

Riss says he reads all the time--well above grade level, true--but he goes to a school that allows that "creative spelling" BS, and he spells for shit. It drives her out of her mind.

[lds]

One useful skill to learn is "working within a predefined set of rules." Language is a good arena in which to learn this skill. It's a skill that is required in most aspects of life, and if we learn to communicate this way, it becomes natural in other outlets as well. So spelling is a useful way to begin teaching this skill.

I would be okay with teaching "creative spelling" if the skill of working within a predefined set of rules was taught instead in some other arena. However, I don't think that emphasis is then strong enough in other areas. Perhaps in music, teachers are okay with telling students, "no, that's wrong, do it again?" Would music be sufficient to fill that gap?

[evilegg]

Music is a great example of how you need to know what you're doing before you can venture out creatively and your work have any legs. I'm a big believer in music and art as a language.
I hate the idea of no discipline and not learning that there are absolutes. If you can accept proper spelling you might have an easier time accepting other things in life, like speed limits and not wearing open toed shoes at hospitals (personal rule).
I wish stats was offered in high school. Learning how data is manipulated is an awesome critical thinking skill that applies daily and something I think that age group would enjoy.

[cappy]

I was like Sam but I remember everyone else doing it while I sat there bored & hence in trouble for 'acting out' by reading the reader. Shame on me!

I think it is a complete disservice to both the children, the work force they presumaby grow up & join, & all the rest of us who have to try to figure out what the hell they're talking/writing about. It's the English LANGUAGE; not slang. Isn't that the REASON we have slang? So people can get 'creative' with the language? Express themselfs mo' adequately, dawg? (Heh)Keep the two separate. There's a place for both but allowing 'creative spelling' in an educational setting is not beneficial for anyone.

[evilegg]

Zactlee!

[zadok_allen]

A linguist (which I'm not*) would correctly argue that all modern language is a product of slang. Grammar rules constantly change, words are regularly added to and dropped from the lexicon. The words "appointment, rendezvous and souvenir," for example, are all French words that were slanged into the English language and now are accepted as "proper English" just like "google" and "texted" and maybe even "dawg" someday.

The rulebook that teachers go by is what's known as prescriptive grammar. The funny thing about prescriptive grammar is that no such thing exists. It's impossible to set hard and fast rules on a language that is constantly changing. Descriptive grammar is what is actually used in the world and on the street, and it is the only "true" language; it's a living, growing thing that can't be confined to a prescribed place. If a language is not permitted to change, it dies - like Latin. That's why Latin is so useful in science - it's a constant because it's a dead language

[somefan]

I'm definitely a word recognizer.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

[ersigh]

How hard was that to type? :p

[somefan]

It was copied pasted :)
I probably could have typed something like that on my own, but I refuse to put that much effort into things. I actually first read this about 15 years ago in a Sams club. It was on paper someone randomly taped to a wall. I've ran across it once or twice on the internetz since.

[skreidle]

It also has no concrete research behind it, but Snopes doesn't discredit it. ;)