You are viewing a single comment's thread from:

RE: The Problem with Spelling

Good points, and a great concern. My 15-year-old granddaughter said her teachers don't worry about spelling and don't teach it because their philosophy is that computers and word processors now come with spell check. Since they can run their spelling through a spell checker so easily, there's not need to know how to spell.

I have a problem with this for several reasons. First, spell checkers don't check the correct use of a word. For instance, "there," "their," and "they're" are all correct spellings, but it matters as to the context which one you use.

Secondly, what happens if they can't get access to a spell checker or the spell checker misses usage problems such as the above, and their spelling is reflective of how they might be judged professionally? A person may not need to know how to spell to obtain a certain position with a company, but good spelling will reflect on them positively at any rate.

Thirdly, what if some cataclysmic event renders all electronics inoperable? I have the same issue with calculators. People today suck at math because they've come to rely too much on calculators. I think it's necessary to know how to do your own mental work even if you don't have to.

Sort:  

I tend to agree with all of that @blockurator. I hadn't really paid a great deal of attention to the Maths side of things, but you're right. I teach Year 7 Maths, and we rarely allow the use of calculators, but by the time they get to Year 10, they are expected to have one of those graphics calculators. Pretty much does everything for them, so I guess we have to hope that they learned enough during the punitive years and are able to carry that for the rest of their lives.