Zach LarkinsSPELLING BEES
Well, the nuts are out again in full force. I read an article the other day where it described the efforts of a bunch of whackos to eliminate spelling bees from our continent. Sad thing is, this seems to be gaining in popularity here in Canada. The reasoning behind this movement seems to be that Spain doesn't have spelling bees. I hardly think Spain is a yardstick for anyone to be measured by. I don't know whether or not Spain is the same as Germany, where every letter of a word is pronounced, but if it is, then you really wouldn't need to hold spelling bees.
I'll be the first to admit that English is a hard language to learn. It is my adopted language and I was lucky enough to pick it up when I was young. But it is the language of Canada (predominantly) and of the USA. When in Rome.................
The true reason behind this move is to lower the bar of education. A lot of immigrants can't be bothered to learn the true language. The group making the argument advocates spelling words the way they sound. This is nonsense. I call it a yard. Someone from Massachusetts calls it a yawd. How the hell are we supposed to communicate? Depending on how you hear a word pronounced will dictate the way you spell it if these nuts have their way. We are all used to hearing different accents and make allowances when speaking with someone. But for that person to try written communication, especially in today's high tech world, based on how he pronounces a word would result in chaos.
A number of years ago, my sister, the teacher, was ordered by her school board to try this little experiment. She showed me an essay one of her daughters had written. I had to read the damn thing five times before I knew what the girl was saying. And trust me, this was not an Elia Lamb essay.
If eye rote thu wae eye spoke, yud haf ta rede it a cupl of tims to figur owt whut thu hek eye wuz triing to sae. Cee how ez that wuz?
I always thought the purpose of education was to make you better than what you are, or advance you from where you started from. It certainly isn't intended to dumb down the general populace just because some people are too lazy to remember the difference between yore, your and you're.
This idea should be put where it correctly belongs. In the circular file.
I'll be the first to admit that English is a hard language to learn. It is my adopted language and I was lucky enough to pick it up when I was young. But it is the language of Canada (predominantly) and of the USA. When in Rome.................
The true reason behind this move is to lower the bar of education. A lot of immigrants can't be bothered to learn the true language. The group making the argument advocates spelling words the way they sound. This is nonsense. I call it a yard. Someone from Massachusetts calls it a yawd. How the hell are we supposed to communicate? Depending on how you hear a word pronounced will dictate the way you spell it if these nuts have their way. We are all used to hearing different accents and make allowances when speaking with someone. But for that person to try written communication, especially in today's high tech world, based on how he pronounces a word would result in chaos.
A number of years ago, my sister, the teacher, was ordered by her school board to try this little experiment. She showed me an essay one of her daughters had written. I had to read the damn thing five times before I knew what the girl was saying. And trust me, this was not an Elia Lamb essay.
If eye rote thu wae eye spoke, yud haf ta rede it a cupl of tims to figur owt whut thu hek eye wuz triing to sae. Cee how ez that wuz?
I always thought the purpose of education was to make you better than what you are, or advance you from where you started from. It certainly isn't intended to dumb down the general populace just because some people are too lazy to remember the difference between yore, your and you're.
This idea should be put where it correctly belongs. In the circular file.
Good job, as always!
Political Certainty
Political Certainty
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern
I swear to God, sometimes people do not think before they act! Why in the hell would you want your country to "lower" the education standards to fit immigrants!?
It's the same out here in Cali...everything you pick up has 17 different languages you have to weed through BEFORE you get to the instructions in English!
And that's supposed be ok why....?
Good night nurse...why do people do this kind of rot?
Great read buddy!
Take care,
Nick
V8 Supercar Pitstop
Hi Youranter
My daughter is eight and I'm always delighted with some of the ways she spells words. Trouble is, her friends all spell words in different ways ... the way they sound it out.
Yes ... how many spellings of one word do we want.
Also, there are a number of different ways to 'spell' certain sounds in words, such as ee and ea that both give the 'ee' sound.
Bloody stupid if you ask me.
Great post, Rant.
A.
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
My wife's younger step-sisters all have difficulty spelling. Even I, at 30, can hardly believe the steep decline in spelling ability I've noticed since I was in school. I shudder when I think about the state of literacy in this country.
Ranter, as a friendly aside, in eastern MA it's a "yahd" not a "yawd". In western MA it's simply a yard.
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern