Your kids' homework

[shotglass]

What annoys me is that spelling is not emphasized, either. I have a fourth and third grader, and all the teachers care about is that the kids sound out the word and spell it the way it sounds. Therefore, you get peepil and forgotun instead of people and forgotten (those were recent words on my kids' papers). I wasn't taught that way in school, and it really annoys me that there is no effort made to encourage spelling. I understand this through first grade, but once the kids can read proficiently, there's no excuse for the schools not to emphasize spelling.

Reading this struck a chord. It's been going on longer than many think.

When I was in second grade -- we're talking (gasp) around 1965 -- in Newburgh, N.Y., our school district decided it was going to try something called ITA. But only with some of the kids.

It was phonetic spelling. The kids were taught to spell "function" as "funkshn." And "Nu York." The idea, I guess, was to get the kids comfortable with reading, and then teach them how to do it right later. They had all these kids' textbooks in "ITA English," and parents were discouraged from letting their children read books with the CORRECT spelling.

Believe it.

The results were what you might expect. By third grade, the kids who were spared from ITA (thankfully, me among them) were picking up spelling and grammar quite well. The ITA kids were funkshnally illiterate.

 

[Chi City 81]

What annoys me is that spelling is not emphasized, either. I have a fourth and third grader, and all the teachers care about is that the kids sound out the word and spell it the way it sounds. Therefore, you get peepil and forgotun instead of people and forgotten (those were recent words on my kids' papers). I wasn't taught that way in school, and it really annoys me that there is no effort made to encourage spelling. I understand this through first grade, but once the kids can read proficiently, there's no excuse for the schools not to emphasize spelling.

Reading this struck a chord. It's been going on longer than many think.

When I was in second grade -- we're talking (gasp) around 1965 -- in Newburgh, N.Y., our school district decided it was going to try something called ITA. But only with some of the kids.

It was phonetic spelling. The kids were taught to spell "function" as "funkshn." And "Nu York." The idea, I guess, was to get the kids comfortable with reading, and then teach them how to do it right later. They had all these kids' textbooks in "ITA English," and parents were discouraged from letting their children read books with the CORRECT spelling.

Believe it.

The results were what you might expect. By third grade, the kids who were spared from ITA (thankfully, me among them) were picking up spelling and grammar quite well. The ITA kids were funkshnally illiterate.

Hmmm ... sounds like a certain SportsJournalists.com poster.

 

[the_rookie]

Well, like, at least your child isn't, like, writing like this. If, like, there are, then you should be like, "Son, stop, like, writing sooooo, like, improper."

 

[the_rookie]

im srry, but i had 2 jus post agen. i luv sj. its da best .......u no...ur subpost 2 cum ova 2nite.

[ LET'S NOT FORGET THOSE CRAZY, ANNOYING ANIMATED ICONS ]

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Kids homework? Try some journalists!

I've had to edit a couple who can really throw some serious garbage in a story. Given our deadlines, we're lucky to have time to do meatball surgery instead of meticulously pulling the damn thing apart and carefully putting it back together.

Back to topic: I always found it fascinating that I went to a school where the English instructors gave me terrible grades, while the other subject instructors never had much problem with what I wrote.

It turns out that my lack of agreement with the English instructors' points of view was costing me grades. I went and got some English credits elsewhere, and in summary the instructors - who were there for that single purpose - didn't see what the problem was. In other words, it wasn't a bitter grad assistant or two taking it out on me.

The terrible spelling always bothers me, but I would have a difficult time teaching a bad speller to improve. I was one of the lucky ones that always understood spelling. I never had to learn it as a skill. (if only other rudiments of life were as easy to me ... :-\)

I don't expect people in other fields to be clear, concise writers who know exactly how to drive a point home with a few paragraphs or a well-constructed collection of paragraphs. But the number of people who are considered fairly intelligent that have problems with simple grammar and basic English is astounding.

 

[Cadet]

Newsweek's cover story is on how "tough" first grade (and, subsequently, all of elementary school) has gotten. It's a good read, especially for people who don't have kids or young kids. The first of the Baby Einstein generation has reached school age, and it's sickening.

 

[Double J]

Newsweek's cover story is on how "tough" first grade (and, subsequently, all of elementary school) has gotten.

Canadian studies have shown that first grade is the three hardest years of a Newfie's life. ;D