Now you know why kids can't spell or make sensible information sentences.

Wats wrung with that? :cunfuzed:

I'll never forget when my oldest daughter was in first grade. They wrote poems to submit to a contest the local paper was having. I proofread her poem before she turned it in so we could be sure everything was spelled correctly and correctly punctuated. My daughter turned it in, and the teacher changed "sledding" (correct) to "sleding" (incorrect)! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I was absolutely furious! And to top it off, my daughter's poem won second place... so it was published in the paper... spelling mistake for the whole world to see! Geez... 20 years later I'm still angry about it. (Think I ought to let go of it? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />)

B'sW

Might be about time to move on from that one M'Am. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

First the leaves, now this. Does somebody need some "Campfire Therapy"?

Ya think? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Thank you, Sir. Somebody had to say it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

B'sW

Hmmmm. This is sounding interesting... Tell me more. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

B'sW

Well first we try the Walkabout Creek method. Remember in Crocodile Dundee when Mick explained why no one there needed therapy? "First you tell Wally, then he tells everyone else, pretty soon, NO PROBLEM.

We have other methods too.

Rates are negotiable.

'least you didn't go POSTAL on the teacher!

I'm thinking that if Penny still holds a grudge after 20 years over one word I am going to make every effort to not tick her off. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
tom

Heh.

A buddy and I were once at a restaurant with Penny listening to her describe an incident in which someone had dealt with her improperly. I can't remember the incident, but it had her kind of worked into a foam.

At one point after she had her full head of steam up, she said something like, "And do you know what I did to him then? Do you know what I did to him?"

My buddy poked me under the table, gave me a wink, and said, "I'll bet you just let that one sliiiiide, dintcha?" ("Sliiiiide" was accompanied by a hard-to-convey hand motion describing an absolutely level surface at approximately eye level.)

All three of us dissolved into laughter, and that phrase has become an inside joke.

Penny will correct me where I'm wrong...

to being on Penny's side on this. One thing that drives me insane is the deplorable application of improper words in use today. I'm, like, you know, in a, like, tizzy, you know the way some people use, like, some words, like, too much.

Another pet peeve (one among many for those of us that retain our anals excessively) is using the word 'their' for 'there' and similar examples. Also, has anyone noticed how many people use the word 'preventative'? There is no such word.....it is 'preventive'.

Y'all had enough or should I continue? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Let that be, like, a lesson to you......y'know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Not to mention "off-ten" and "AWESOME!!".. Man did I get sick of THAT one, ya know? LOL.

spelenn iz a gud thang.

Hey MColeman,

I couldn't agree more. I can let the occasional spelling error slide past, but the misuse of language or incorrect words is what bugs me.

I enjoy the story about Grace Hopper (rear Admiral who had been instrumental in computer development) and her disdain for misusing the English language. As I recall she would actually fine her associates & subordinates for misusing the word "like" in communications. "It was like, the newest way to ..."

For me I guess it's the words such as "irregardless" and "orientated" that bug me the most, although I'm sure there are more. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

When I get rid of this glass house I will complain, till then it's like I can dig it man.

Have you ever heard someone describe a "mute" point? Pretty common misuse of "moot" where I work.

I grew up in southern Ohio in during my learning to read years. Every time I have taken College placement tests the councilor has looked over my tests and then informed me I can neither read or spell. When I asked what information they used to draw that conclusion I have been informed it is because of where and when I learned to read. Dayton Ohio was the testing ground for a form of sight reading that proved to be a full blown disaster.

I can read because I have made the system work for me. I like to read and have been an avid reader since 4th grade but spelling is beyond me. I know the square root of negative two, I know the sign of forty-five degrees and have often calculated trig problems in my head but spelling resists me no matter how hard I try. I often get so frustrated in the middle of writing something that I shut down the computer and walk off in a rage at being so stupid I can not find the right spelling. Writing even a simple love note to my wife without a spellchecker is out of the question, it is too embarrassing.

I am envious of you who can look down on those of us handicapped in this horrid way. Please excuse my feeble attempts and I will try to do my best to keep my stupid blunders to a minimum.

always puzzled me is when someone says "I know the spelling is not correct.....". My question is, if they can't spell how do they know it is incorrect? If they know the word is spelled wrong why not learn how to spell it correctly? If we never make an attempt to correct errors we never learn anything.

im with Scott on this. my spelling is horrible. and as to how we know we spell bad and still have a hard time. its probably cause we like to read. reading and spelling are two completly different things after we type somethin and go back and read it to ourselves we find mistakes cause something just doesnt look right and we cant figure out how in the hell to fix it. does that sum it up well Scott?

as 'looking down our noses at those who can't spell' then we are clumsy in our efforts. Until you mentioned it I never imagined a person who is an avid reader was not automatically a good speller. If a person reads a lot and reads the same words over and over I would just assume they would remember how it was spelled. I can't comprehend how dyslexia and other problems affect someone because I've just never experienced those problems. Try to describe a toothache to someone who has never had one. Can't be done.

I've always been an avid reader and spelling has come easily for me but I suck at abstract math. Never could come close to mastering algebra. I can do calculations quickly in my head but flunked algebra three times at Auburn.

You would not believe the great lengths I have gone to try to memorize correct spellings. I have been working at correcting the problem for more than fifty years with almost no success. I went for most of my life ashamed to attempt to put any words on paper. It has only with the help of computers and spellcheckers that I have been able to express myself other than verbally. Even today, whenever I teach I have someone else right on the blackboard for me. Again, I am truly envious of you who can spell.

I can't spell worth a darn. never could never will.
I bring up a word document and type my posts in. Then do spell check prior to posting. tom

Hey ScottF,

Like I said, I really don't have any hangup on mispellings just with a few certain words being used incorrectly. I also rarely correct anyone on those mistakes and just let things slide. (unless they ask to be corrected like an office mate who is from Venezuela & wants to improve his English).

To be perfectly honest, I was a horrible speller as a kid in school. Even though I excelled at every other subject, when it came time to do the annual spelling bee I would be about the first to sit down. It was always embarrassing for me as the "smart" kid to fail so miserably.

The really funny thing is that as an adult I rarely mispell when I type at the keyboard, and when I do I usually realize it before the spellcheck shows me. I remain a terrible verbal speller but when my motor skills take over in typing I seem to be capable. Wierd, huh?

i was a fan of Steven King nad Micheal Crition in the sixth grade. reading has never been a problem for me and neither has math. my first semester in college i got a B in algebra going to class twice a month, the day before a test and the day of the test with no studying at all.

as far as spelling i just cant do a good job. add that to the fact my brain gets ahead of my fingers while typing and my fingers miss keys. i torque my wife to no end. we work for a weekly paper and she is my boss. like any small town buisness all of us do a bit of everything and she trys to get me to proofread on occation which is fine when comparing number in car ads and such but i cant proofread a story cause i read whats supposed to be there and not what actually is there so i miss more errors than i catch.

Hey rattler,

Wanna' know a trick to proofreading copy for spelling mistakes? Try reading it backwards ... from end to beginning. That way your mind actually thinks about each word rather than what each word is "supposed to be". Of course, that doesn't help in catching grammar.

Unfortunately my motor skills aren't any better than the rest of me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

The mis-use of a word that always gets me is to hear or read someone say I have a whelp on my arm or leg or some place.

You got a puppy on your body?

The correct word is welt.

I will never forget when, years ago, my third grader came in very upset about missing two words on his spelling test.

The words were pronounced by the teacher and spelled by the students.

First word was DOE which he spelled doe.
WRONG- word was door.

Second was FOE which he spelled foe
Again WRONG word was four.

As to spelling in general see my tag line <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />


BCR

seem pretty good. Evidently you're making good progress.
Keep it up and I'll be pulling for you. Warmest regards,
Mickey

Scott_F,
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Perhaps you could let the rest of the world know what the square root of negative two is??? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> FYI, negative numbers can't have square roots. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

... and to help you with your spelling, it would be sine rather than sign. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> (intended as a friendly jab, NOT to rag on ya!)

See Mom! A degree in math DOES have a use!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

It would be ether i1.4142 or j1.4142, depending on if the user was into math or electrical circuitry. The i or the j being an imaginary number denoting the square root of a negative number. Not bad for a broken down old machinist who can�t machine any more. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

sines, sines everywhere sines
Blocking the scenery , taking up time

do this, dont do that
cant you read the sines??

What really aggravates me is when people persist in misspelling apparently straightforward words such as aluminium, flavour, colour etc.

I mean, really...

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

after you misspelled all three! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Alack! Even gentlemen of a certain, and redoubtable vintage!

And some people can't even pronounce them correctly, I mean "al-yu-MIN-ium". Really! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Paul

That may be so on your side of the pond, but here in Amurika we spleel them the way they sound! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> You mean like Arkansas?!

Yep, AR-kans-ass <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

cut that out! I had to look up the meaning of two of those words to find out if I needed to round up a second....on second thought, I'd much rather have to round up a first. I used to be a lover, not a fighter and things have not changed. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

lol, Mr Coleman! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I often pronouce aluminum as 'al-YOU-minium.

We're (were/where) not all barbarians. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Variety is the spice of life... Be pretty dull if we all spoke the same.

Like the pronunciation of words as well. One of my pet peeves is the way people pronounce the word for pavement.

ASH Fault (when it is spelled asphalt, and pronounced ass fault.) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Hell, I call it blacktop! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Shootist, don't start me!!

Or a favourite (ahem!) over here is simply mass misuse of a word, such as 'infer' in place of 'imply' etc etc

If you would like to gain a better understanding of dyslexia , you might want to hit the library.The book you want is "The Gift of Dyslexia" by Ronald W. Davis.
It's the best discussion of the topic I have ever come accross......and I have both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology and another Master's in Educational Administration. I only mention my credentials to illustrate just how good I think this book is.
It's the only one I've ever come accross that accurately describes my grandfather's and my own experience with the condition.

"Ode to the Spelling Checker!"

Eye halve a spelling check or.
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write.
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it.
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh.
My check or tolled me sew.