OK, this is a bit of a rant on my part...
When I'm reading posts from other people that are obviously are somewhat educated, they should know how to spell... I'm not talking about an occasional typo... Everyone makes mistakes here and there... Lord knows I make enough of them myself... And what get's me even more is when the worst violators are part of our education system and they are teaching our children... It drives me nuts... Lord have mercy on the children being taught by a teacher who can't spell or form a sentence in the right way... I'm not talking about one or two words, but most of the words or how they are used... I don't want to even begin on the topic of math... Thankfully I have only known a few teachers that fall into this category of my rant... There are some wonderful teachers out there doing a great job of teaching our children... But there are the exceptions...
My suggestion to teachers./educators that are suppose to know how to spell and form sentences and can't, is to get a new profession or go back to school... IF they can't do that, do what I do and have someone edit your things before it goes out to the public... I won't even go into those that type everything in caps, misspelled and jumbled up and they are teaching... Ughhh...
So my rant is: How in the world are kids supposed to learn correct grammar and spelling when the teachers haven't noticed - or worse, perhaps can't actually see - the mistakes! Teachers should be able to have a handle on spelling and should be able to do the work they are handing out for their students to do... If they teacher can't spell, why would we expect the kids to spell?
My suggestion to teachers./educators that are suppose to know how to spell and form sentences and can't, is to get a new profession or go back to school... IF they can't do that, do what I do and have someone edit your things before it goes out to the public... I won't even go into those that type everything in caps, misspelled and jumbled up and they are teaching... Ughhh...
So my rant is: How in the world are kids supposed to learn correct grammar and spelling when the teachers haven't noticed - or worse, perhaps can't actually see - the mistakes! Teachers should be able to have a handle on spelling and should be able to do the work they are handing out for their students to do... If they teacher can't spell, why would we expect the kids to spell?
Since this blog is more about how teachers or educators are posting messages... Or they may be sending out messages to parents or those that can see everything they write on Facebook... I have found what a reputable website says about etiquette rules for messages, emails ect...
If you USE ALL CAPS in your email or message board posts, you will immediately make yourself seem inexperienced or ignorant. Most experienced computer users consider the use of all capital letters to be the Internet equivalent of shouting.
Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation.
This is not only important because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression of your company, it is also important for conveying the message properly. E-mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. And, if your program has a spell checking option, why not use it?
This is not only important because improper spelling, grammar and punctuation give a bad impression of your company, it is also important for conveying the message properly. E-mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change the meaning of the text. And, if your program has a spell checking option, why not use it?
For those who use all caps in emails and posts:
If you USE ALL CAPS in your email or message board posts, you will immediately make yourself seem inexperienced or ignorant. Most experienced computer users consider the use of all capital letters to be the Internet equivalent of shouting.
I do have to add this for those who use CAPS all the time... If you are blind as a bat and can't see anything you are writing, then go to your tools setting and increase you're font so everyone else who has no problem seeing can read it without thinking we are being shouted at... Just a thought...
Closing Thought: Bad grammar and spelling drive me insane... I'm the first one that has no problem pointing out my own misspelled words and such...My most common ones are thier instead of their and your instead of you're... I'm not the typo police and far from perfect... I'm bad when it comes to finding my own typos and I always use the dots (...) after my sentences... Not sure why I do, but I do... It's a me thing I guess... I don't get paid to teach child and I'm just a blogger and mother who does this as a hobby... I do have people help me edit, thankfully and I use spell check... Thank God for editors and spell check, lol... Mainly in this blog I have been talking about teachers, but I should include anyone from authors, editors, journalists and so on when I'm talking about this problem with spelling... But then again, the teachers are the ones who taught all these other professionals how to spell... What a wicked roller-coaster we are on... Are we all doomed to be a society of illiterate zombies walking around in a world with no sense of direction...
7 comments:
The sad thing is: Point out bad grammar or spelling to a lot of the younger ones, and their attitude is "Big deal, what difference does it make?" My fear is that if there is not a turn-a-round in that sort of thinking, in a few generations, written communication will be obsolete. Until a few years ago, it was unimaginable to get a business letter with a typo or misspelled word. Now it's common.
I agree... Technology isn't always the best thing... Letter writing and talking to people is a lost art... Everyone want's it now.... What's funny or kinda scary, depending on how you look at it is that employers are looking at social networks before they hire people... People should watch what they put out there because you never know who is watching or reading... The bad thing about spell check and you have to watch it is that it won't correct a word that is spelled right, but used in the wrong way...
WELP as one, who are the worst spiller and not ser goed at punctuwaytion!
Tits a good place fur some folk whom er mindless and jus likes TO RAMBLE And Bite
For me I just feel toen't make ner never mind what I thinks, But what does God think is all I CARE ABOUT!
lIFE IS TOO SHORT AND WE MUST ALL MAKE THE MOST OUT OF WHAT GOD GIVES US! AND MAYBE LOOK LESS AT THE GOLD ON THE ALTER AND MORE AT THE TREASURE WITHIN!
Well these are just my thoughts for what good they may be even if I didn't punctuate or spill correctly or had a few typo errors too! LOL
God Bless,
Pappy
G'day,
Having just typed into the Google bar 'I'm a teacher and I can't spell well' in order to gain some resources/advice/information on how my disability can be prevented from occurring in the classroom, I came upon your post - and thus found the one thing I didn't want to: someone hoping to be rid of people like me from the education system.
And to that I say good on you: obviously you want the best for your/our children and the last thing they need are teachers not correcting their work properly, or displaying to them incorrect spelling.
However, that doesn't change the fact that in four months time I will be moving into a full time teaching position with the NSW Department of Education.
And this is my story: I was born a bad speller. It's only now that my girlfriend suggested I may be dyslexic (mildly, perhaps) that I realised I may not just be unintelligent but might actually be working against some ingrained difficulties. But I work hard. In the past five years or so I have concentrated on becoming a more proficient speller and have improved immaculately (apparently not that immaculately because that word just became underlined and thus will need be corrected before posting). But the thing is I'm slowly, but surely improving my spelling and one day in perhaps five or ten years I may be to the level a secondary teacher should be at.
(Continued next message . . .)
(Continued from above . . .)
On my professional experience just last month I couldn't spell a simple word when writing on the white board - this to me, felt like a sort of death and after the class I went into the staffroom and my eyes watered up as I sat down. Thoughts of quitting went through me; but really, this was never going to occur as this, with all the challenges I've endured to be where I am today, would be rather pathetic. We, as humans, shouldn't give up too easily. They talk a lot about resilience at the university I am at. You are a writer. You know all about resilience.
Anyway, that moment hurt me but I continued teaching next lesson and didn't stop all week. I believe I am a good teacher. I hope that I am. The last thing I want is to be letting todays' children down by being inefficient as a teacher. I want to be a great teacher. I do believe this may take some time, but I hope to get there. In the meantime I will do my best and hope students will not be dissuaded by my teaching practices.
So this leaves us at a stalemate. Do teachers not teach because they have a problem and should do something more comfortable to them, or do they break out of their comfort zones? Do they display to students what can be done with some belief? Do they show students that inabilities should not prevent you from what you want to do?
I believe I have a lot to tell children. I believe I've done some astounding things in life and I want students to have the knowledge on how things like this can be achieved. I believe in the students and their strengths, and that their weaknesses should be worked at, should be stared in the face, and should be eaten away bit by bit.
But should I be a teacher if I can't spell ‘royalty’, or even 'crime'? Perhaps not. Incidentally, those two words I misspelt on the whiteboard I've spelt correctly now. I am learning. I can spell very large words. I have no problem spelling 'unmotivated, or 'barriers' or 'preconceptions'. I am developing strategies to hide my inconsistencies, my irrationalities and misconceptions. And I am pushing my limits; stretching my potential and remolding sections of my soul.
I was not always intelligent and I may not be now, however I was happy with the three credits and one distinction I received in my four postgraduate degree teaching subjects.
All I'm trying to say is this: yes, the thought of a teacher hindering a students’ education is bad, and we don't want teachers in the education system who go out there blatantly not attempting to improve their pedagogy. But I do ask that you be mindful of who you judge. I can't spell well - but I put more effort in than many of the other student teachers, and with the improvements I have made over the past two years, I hope to be of value to students.
If we ‘developing spellers’ should not be praised by our bravery of moving into the teacher world, then perhaps we could be commended for attempting this, for doing what is most difficult for us in life, and striving for our best despite our failures.
In the next few years I'll either be turfed out of the system, or make a good teacher. I'll let you know either way :)
Thanks for your time,
Sean O'Connor
Hi Sean,
Thank you for commenting and I'm sorry if I came off being judgmental... I do know some great teachers and not all are good at all subjects... I do feel that there could be many reasons for not being a good speller... I do feel though that if a teacher has a weakness in a certain area they should do what they can do to become a better teacher... Not all people who teach should be in that field... My daughter is going into Elementary Ed and I know she has always had problems with science and forming good sentences... But she is learning what she can to be a better teacher... I don't think perfection is anything that anyone no matter what field they are in can obtain...
When I wrote this post I was thinking about one person in particular that is a teacher that should never be in that field since she has no desire to help children and learn herself... Sometimes I get in a uproar especially when my children or grandchildren are being taught by someone who doesn't want to learn themselves or has no desire to do the best they can since they don't want to do that...
I know myself that teaching is something I would never be able to do because that takes a special person to do that... When you were talking about dyslexia I was thinking about a book I read by Mark Hall... He is a Christian singer with Casting Crowns and had to learn things in a different way... He became a great writer and singer...
Thank you for commenting... It's nice to hear from those who are teachers and what they are going through... I would love to hear how things go for you... :)
Thanks Sandi for your understanding, it was great to hear your response and I'm glad to hear your kind words. You're not being judgmental at all. I should spend less time telling people about my insecurities and more time fixing them!
Enjoy your day. That's a good story about Mark Hall, good on him.
Cheers :)
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