Here’s another thread about the debasement of our education system, but from a slightly different perspective. As a student, home schooled from elementary through middle school, I was appalled by the ignorance that has amplified in the schools. I discovered myself to be a member of an extreme minority in what I would consider common knowledge. Upon reference to our Prime Minister, Jean Chretien (I am Canadian), my comment was met with ‘blank’ stares and inquiry as to whom I was referring. For you Americans, it would be the equivalent of discovering your coworkers had not the least idea who George W. Bush was. Also unknown to them was our Premier (your Senator) and local representatives. Another inexpectation was the questioning of a word’s meaning, which I would deem quite common place. This often happened after I spoke.

As to my view of teachers, I found a fair amount to be adequate educators, and few to be referred to as ‘above par’. An example would be a particular Science teacher emphasized solely the area of Science, excluding the necessary knowledge of spelling. When a minor test was given, he stated to those correcting (your test would be passed to another student for correction) that ‘if you could tell what it was, mark it right’. If I could tell what it was! Proper spelling of a word is vital in all subjects, not exclusively English. The teacher, though excellent in the field of Science, excluded other instruction essential to a student’s success.

Does anyone else have comments about this subject? I realize that it has been presented before, but I hold the opinion that significant issues as this can rarely be discussed and disputed excessively.

Welcome, Verbarian!

Yeah, I gottcher spellin rite'ear...

To say that spelling is essential to teaching music is jumping out on a limb, but I'm sure someone will have a good *arguement for ya!

Correct spelling is that which makes you itterate the idea successfully, or understand what you're reading. As it has been shown in a number of different threads here over the *years, there are not enough rules for teaching spelling/pronounciation to cover all the exceptions. (...er, that's at least one take on it )

Spelling 'cord' instead of 'chord' only makes a difference to the person reading silently, not out loud to a crowd in a context to understand it. It is personal, verbal forms of communication that are most beneficial as a musician (as both performer and teacher.)

I'm thinkin nobudee in the orkestra kin tel (or gives a rats ass) if yew kin spel kurektly. Now, in science clas dare may bee a bit more to be kunfuzed abowt.

System shmist'em!

I think spelling is interesting, and I like making an honest attempt to spell correctly. And, when I misspell words, I like correcting them. Unless I'm going for humor.

But I have a pet peeve, music teachers included:

I can't stand seeing bulletin boards in schools with misspelled words. It's very rare that I see a bulletin board in my own school with a misspelled word, and I'm not a bee in anybody's bonnet when I spot one, but it is a pet peeve to see that rarity.

I feel the same way about letters that go home to parents--can't stand seeing misspelled words. And I ain't perfect either. I've sent home a letter here and there that has a word my eye didn't catch in editing--and it bugs the hell out of me when I find the rascal after the letter has already gone home.

Here on AWAD: It doesn't bug me at all because I figure we're all writing pretty quickly--and we sure can't use the spellcheck, right?

My experience is similar to your own. Most teachers were pretty much ho-hum, with a very few bright gems scattered in among the lumps of coal. Also, I knew a woman once (in college) who when George Bush the Senior was mentioned to her, inquired unsure of herself, "He's a republican, right?" OTOH, she graduated engineering school with straight As. (She was very tall and staggeringly beautiful and I often wondered if she didn't pretend to be dumber than she really was so men - and maybe women as well - might not be so intimidated by her.) If this is a poor example, I can think of other, similar cases. Sure, there are people who miss out on a lot, but are nevertheless highly functional.

I think the grading issue should be a judgement call for the particular teachers; however, I would hope that most would agree that a student should NOT loose substantial points in a science class for mistakes in spelling or grammar. If the teacher can easily infer the intended meaning (and that meaning corresponds to a correct solution), then it's fine (even desirable) that that the student not be marked down. The exception here would be for technical words. A student studying biology, for example, ought to be required to spell and use correctly a small glossary of technical vocabulary specific to the field.

After all, a student will be marked down in English class for mistakes in language. I don't think teachers should necessarily reduce their history grades for the same reason. If it's not clear that the student has actually answered the question correctly, by all means, withhold all credit.

k

My best friend when I was growing up was ( and still is, you don't grow out of it) dyslexic. He was shoved down into the bottom sets and was alienated from the learning process until his situation was recognised. I remember the first time he took a maths exam with his dyslexic tutor, who read the questions to him and took down his answers. The next term he jumped from set four to set one and ended up leaving high school with ten GCSE's. If he had been penalised for his English comprehension, I have no doubt his only qualification would have been his B in Art. Grammar is important but it is also important to recognise that English is not the only subject, and bright, capable pupils should not be written off, not everybody processes information in the same way.

We all seem to have our own opinions about what we want from schools, where the emphases should be placed, what constitutes an effective teacher, and on and on. Just as we will find too many ho-hum teachers along with the few gems, teachers will find far more ho-hum students than the few memorable ones. With long experience as both a teacher and a parent, I've found myself on both sides of the issue. I taught English, so naturally I have a bias in the direction of accuracy in spelling and grammar. I've been known to trash multiple copies of a parent memo, having noted a misplaced comma. On the other hand, even Alex Trebek allows spelling errors in Final Jeopardy answers.
I would wince at seeing teachers in other subject areas accept sub-literate papers from students. However, as the parent of a dyslexic child I witnessed first-hand the frustration that many students experience. I was led to believe that my third-grade son was likely to be "slow" academically throughout his remaining school years. Ultimately, thanks to a combination of Ritalin, a computer equipped with Spellcheck, and fierce determination, he made it through college summa cum laude and has done just fine in his career in journalism. I'm left wondering if, as a teacher, I might have placed too much emphasis on the minutiae of written communication. It's a tough call.