Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Ok, having read a few posts recently, mainly from the younger members of the forum, I just have to comment on the state of some of what is being written.

I am not wanting to name and shame, but I can't help but use the example that brought this to a head for me. No offence meant to Plowsie, and I hope that he will not take offence, he was just the unlucky one that gave me my example in this thread

Am I totally unreasonable and out of touch?

So a poll, no, not on my attitude, but on communication, although I would like try and see if this is an age thing brought on by the previlance of mobile phone texting.

I dont think that people should spell-check EVERYTHING, but some attempt at accuracy would be good (This paragraph added as a disclaimer against any errors in this post :P)

So, please vote :)

David

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Ok ok i own up to it David :D

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I just had a quick skim again. The only thing I see in that thread, is a couple of missed capitalisations, and the over use of the period key.

Don't see the problem personally. Feel free to shoot me (please, it'll help me out too!).

EDIT: Careful plowise, you missed a capital I in there. He'll have you hung drawn & quartered! :lol:

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

ive seen much much worse....................

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

There goes that period key over use.

BTW SoulKiss, you missed the "I don't care" option. You know that's mandatory!

Also, non of those options really fit my thoughts, so I'll vote "in the context of the example given, no, it doesn't matter." ;)

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

as long as its readable, i dont see the problem.

you might have noticed my spelling is not the best. :smt045

:thumbsup:

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Might I be so bold as to humbly enquire whether owning a copy of 'Eats shoots and leaves' may be a prerequisite to joinng this august forum ? ;)

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Bad spelling, I can put up with, but its Text Speak that drives me nuts...

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

wau talkin abot fools, aint nothin rong with me spellin you bunch of grandads..........

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

You are not being unreasonable in any way. The quality of spelling and grammar that has been taught in schools for the last 10 years or so is non existant. In my opinion, most current teachers' would not have much of a clue either.
I find it really annoying when people hide behind the fact that they are Dyslexic, wherein they have actually been let down by the awful education system of this country. :smt013

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Yeah, lets all just blame the teachers eh ?

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

the way they teach them to write at school is a bit strange, well I think so anyway, but then i'm an old duffer. It never fails to amaze me when people get their homophones muddled, especially their, there and they're. but in the big scale of things, its really not that important.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Careful, there's some teachers (and teaching assistants) on the org...

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Who 'just' blamed the teachers??
A lot of factors are to be blamed.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I'm really starting to think that Steve and I are related in some way! Another one of his posts I agree with.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I was being ironic actually, get a bit sick of everyone blaming teachers for the ills of society

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Thank you. Not many people agree with my rants! :smt013

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I know. Please see my post.

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I just think its crap the way teachers are supposed to educate children plus be social workers, psychologists, and all the rest of the things that most parents are meant to do. Give em a break and some extra wages.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

My daughter's misspellings were never corrected. I asked the teacher why and she said that it would make the children feel like they were failures.

I don't mind a few spelling errors but, like Fizz, it's textspeak that I don't like.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I sincerely hope you kicked up a severe storm over that one! Schools (and perticularly terrible teachers) are a bit of a sore point with me.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Well I blame both the teachers and the parents actually. Having recently finished bring up my two children, I can say that insisting on the use of good English in assignments they bring home is greeted by the assertion that Mr. Teacher says this is not important. If you take the teacher to task over this at a parent / teacher evening you are informed that little Jonny is correct - use of English is not important when communicating ideas on an unrelated subject. The only subject where the proper use of English is encouraged is English.

Many parents will give up well before this, as they do not see the value in communicating clearly in the written form. In fact a lot of parents could not give a hoot about school work since they do not see the value in it and are happy to abrogate their responibilities to the school. By doing this, they also feel justified in blaming the teachers, since they have delegated parental responsibility to the school; they jusy forgot to tell the teachers!

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I did English language at A level and usually can spell without checking, and usually the grammar is not far off. When writing replies and such its usually in a can't be arsed way, not because I'm uneducated or just bad at it. My kids just learning how to write. The teacher, teaches through play, and apparently boys learn to write better if they can concentrate playing. My son has two left feet and is clumsy, which shows in his handwriting. But as he concentrates on co-ordinating outside its improving. Now all he needs is help in the right direction with spelling from me. Unfortunately parents these days expect teacher to do everything and do little themselves.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I'm so glad you used the word "many" in that post :)

I certainly have no problems to going way beyond the parent-teacher relationship to make my opinion known. Just as I'll happily walk in from a day in the office, and sit down with the kids to go through their homework, then put them to bed etc, and then, when I have the time, get something to eat!

Not all young parents (I'm only 24) fall into the stereotype, but granted, a fair chunk do unfortunately.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

My ex-girlfriend's mother is a deputy headmistress at a lower school in Norwich. She tells me that a Science teacher will not correct a child's spelling as the child is in their lesson to learn Science and not English. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I may not be the most intelligent guy in the world (I managed to get A level English, which isn't bad considering English wasn't then my first language) and I make mistakes in my grammar all the time, but I try to spell correctly and make my posts legible. I'm genuinely shocked at the quality of some younger people's English, and even my own kids' at times. My younger three all attend private schools, where they have quite high educational standards, but even those schools are limited as to what they can enforce now with Ofsted and the like breathing down their necks.

Seeing how teaching standards have dropped nationwide over the last 20 years has made me very glad I was taught in the age that I was. I delight in sending back my kids' school reports with the teacher's spelling and grammar mistakes highlited, and with a 6/10 score at the bottom of the page.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

lots of parents, think its the teachers duty to do everything for the kids. we have just started a new tooth brushing scheme. how the hell is it the schools problem that the kids are not brushing their teeth. lack of discipline and stupid policies and new schemes are what drive me mad about my job. oh yeah and the kids, and lack of decent wages. but on the bright side 27 working days til end of term woohoo

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I agree completely kitkat. I seriously can't understand why you have had to do that, other than obviously bringing the kids awareness to brushing teeth (which they should of been doing way before they started school anyway).

With our kids, teeth are brushed every morning & every evening (more than my parents instilled into me!), and I'm happy to say that purely out of his own choice, my eldest brushes his teeth whenever he's near the bathroom (eg, if he goes to the toilet, he washes hands, then brushes teeth).

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

You're dead right, we gave all our kids as much help as we could in our own time, and all four of them could read and write before starting school full time. However, the standard of teaching has most definitely dropped significantly over the last 20 years. Also, I remember having dental hygeine lessons in 1973, when I was 11 years old, it's nothing new.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

bring back National Service:salut:

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The poor sod will end up with OCDs. My son had to be coaxed out of OCDs when he was only 4 yrs old - he would freak if one of his shoes was out of line under his bed, or a book had been put back in the wrong place on the shelf.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

:) Closer to the mark than you might think.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

the tooth brushing is because 58% of jock children have some form of tooth decay by age 5. why cant they add flouride to water I dont know. anyway its more to do with the drinking irn bru for breakfast that is the problem. this is a poor area and yet the kids have loads of sweets for snack. one kid brings 2 bars of choc and a bottle of irn bru for lunch. oh i need to go and lie down in a darkened room, dont get me started lol

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

He has mental health problems anyway, but I'm not concerned about OCD's.

I more take the opinion with all of the kids that whatever they want to do is fine (within reason obviously). Most of it at their age is just another phase anyway (my eldest is 8) and will pass with time. So far, I've been proven right thankfully.

As for the sweets/snacks/fizzy drinks issue, another one I'm happy to say we're not guilty of.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Well as I was only being born in 1973, I cant speak for then, but we DID do dental hygeine in the late 70's too - I remember those pink disclosing tablets........

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I have just looked at the pole results and the older you are the more important it seems.
Not just spelling and grammar but many aspects of life have changed.
Schooling had much smaller classes when I was a kid and just possibly that is where private schooling may have an advantage
I don't consider that doing away with cane or strap has helped as teachers now don't have this option as a form of punishment for wrong doings
I,m not saying this is correct but it put the fear of death up me when I was a kid. My parents and grandparents always encouraged us to read and helped us with homework and that was 55years ago.
Modern teaching allows calculators and computers but take them away and ask todays children to solve problems and they seem lost
Sorry I don't think things have improved for the better


N.B. I still can't type which is the source of most of my errors

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I agree, ;) make teachers actually teach academic subjects, give them more powers of discipline, but make them actually work full time (rather than half a day for half a year :roll: ) and perhaps pay them less.





:smt112







:smt064

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I find the standard of my spelling has gone downhill since spell-checkers became commonplace, however that is also probably due in part to my typing skills, or rather lack of them! I wasn't taught any grammer all the way through High School though, and I am 30. Spellings were always corrected, irrespective of the subject though.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

I wish it were.

I'm sure I've never met Lynne Truss, but that book was clearly written for me.

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

As lung as I can undastand udder peeple an dey undastand me I dont give dang.
Wot is grama an spelin eni way :confused:

Sum mumkees spel beta than moste peeple

Re: Spelling, Grammar and the like.
 

Lynne who ? :rolleyes: