Why the obessession with spelling/grammar?

[mnn727]

I can put up with a lot of grammer problems, although misuse of their/there/they're does drive me up a wall but I try to keep it inside.

What I absolutly hate are people that increase their font size so its bigger than anyone elses; like their words are more important than anyone elses. I also won't even read anything written all in caps.

[Dravin]

Thanks, Dravin. I'm happy now, so maybe I should try out for that Happy Cow pageant--you know the ones with the commercials "Happy cows come from California!"

Sounds like a plan, make sure to wear sunscreen though, those commercials look sunny.

[beefche]

THANKS FOR REPLYING, MNN. I THINK THEIR ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THERE WORDS ARE MORE IMPORTANT CAUSE GONE TO A SCHOOL THAT HELPS THEM THEIR LEARNING.

[mnn727]

THANKS FOR REPLYING, MNN. I THINK THEIR ARE PEOPLE WHO THINK THERE WORDS ARE MORE IMPORTANT CAUSE GONE TO A SCHOOL THAT HELPS THEM THEIR LEARNING.

Ah jus new sumbody wood do that!!!!!

[Vort]

I never understood why people get sensitive about this yet I know they do. I'd rather see someone blow their nose than to keep with the big gulping sniffs or wiping their nose on their sleeve or worse letting it just drip.

I think here we must distinguish between a relatively discreet, gentle blow into a handkerchief and a rafter-rattling war whoop designed to dislodge all mucous within a radius of ten feet of the nose being blown.

[Wingnut]

I can put up with a lot of grammer problems, although misuse of their/there/they're does drive me up a wall but I try to keep it inside.

What I absolutly hate are people that increase their font size so its bigger than anyone elses; like their words are more important than anyone elses. I also won't even read anything written all in caps.

I didn't catch this until the second time around, but you misspelled grammar.

[Vort]

I didn't catch this until the second time around, but you misspelled grammar.

He said his tolerated but disliked grammar problems. He didn't say anything about spelling problems. (Personally, I'm more irritated by the latter than the former.)

[bcguy]

My spelling and grammar issues come mostly from not double checking my own writing skills.

I would say, it is a function of the State or countries education system. Here in Canada, and other countries, its citizens make fun of the United States regarding how poorly educated the general population is. I have a friend in Seattle, who is a math professor at the University of Washington. He has told me that over the years, he has seen his first year students come into his program with degrading math skills. He said that, it has been getting worse and worse over the years.

In my impression of the US, it is a place where emphisis is placed on football, basketball players, Celebrities both music and movies as a role model for kids and always going for parties. Parents are really partly to blame for this attitude there teens want. I view the US as a fun place where education takes a back seat. This was NEVER the case in the 40s,50,s60!. In those time periods, most kids said thay wanted to be a scientist or police officer or doctor. Not today!

In Japan, if you do not pass your class or flunk out, you are shamed by your parents to everyone in the family.

[Vort]

My spelling and grammar issues come mostly from not double-checking my own writing skills.

I would say, it is a function of the State or countries education system. Here in Canada, and other countries, its citizens make fun of the United States regarding how poorly educated the general population is. I have a friend in Seattle, who is a math professor at the University of Washington. He has told me that over the years, he has seen his first-year students come into his program with degrading math skills. He said that, it has been getting worse and worse over the years.

In my impression of the US, it is a place where emphisis is placed on football, basketball players, Celebrities both music and movies as a role model for kids and always going for parties. Parents are really partly to blame for this attitude there teens want. I view the US as a fun place where education takes a back seat. This was NEVER the case in the 40s,50,s60!. In those time periods, most kids said thay wanted to be a scientist or police officer or doctor. Not today!

In Japan, if you do not pass your class or flunk out, you are shamed by your parents to everyone in the family.

Anyone else find this humorous?

P.S. I don't disagree with your overall assessment of the state of public education in the US, though I would be surprised to learn it's much better in Canada. The root problem is that parents don't take responsibility for their children's education. They have completely shrugged that off onto the government and happily taken the position of complainer. For this, the corrupt and despicable teachers unions (e.g. the NEA and its state-level incarnations) are as much to blame as anyone.

Edited December 3, 2009 by pam
You missed one Vort

[SMG]

Anyone else find this humorous?

P.S. I don't disagree with your overall assessment of the state of public education in the US, though I would be surprised to learn it's much better in Canada. The root problem is that parents don't take responsibility for their children's education. They have completely shrugged that off onto the government and happily taken the position of complainer. For this, the corrupt and despicable teachers unions (e.g. the NEA and its state-level incarnations) are as much to blame as anyone.

The teachers' unions are exactly one half the reason why I stopped pursuing a degree in music education. I had done some reading up on them and determined that I wanted NOTHING to do with those unions professionally.

[Wingnut]

Anyone else find this humorous?

P.S. I don't disagree with your overall assessment of the state of public education in the US, though I would be surprised to learn it's much better in Canada. The root problem is that parents don't take responsibility for their children's education. They have completely shrugged that off onto the government and happily taken the position of complainer. For this, the corrupt and despicable teachers unions (e.g. the NEA and its state-level incarnations) are as much to blame as anyone.

I'm laughing at Pam's edit notes in this post more than the post itself.

[pam]

Well he did.

[LDSVALLEY]

Anyone else find this humorous?

P.S. I don't disagree with your overall assessment of the state of public education in the US, though I would be surprised to learn it's much better in Canada. The root problem is that parents don't take responsibility for their children's education. They have completely shrugged that off onto the government and happily taken the position of complainer. For this, the corrupt and despicable teachers unions (e.g. the NEA and its state-level incarnations) are as much to blame as anyone.

I have to disagree with this. While, of course parents are part of a complex problem, there are several collective issues. In our region many parents have pulled kids from the school system and are educating them at home. One parent has fought with the school to fail her youngest child because he has a learning issue that is putting him further and further behind. She spends hours each week trying to help him keep up but he is two years behind in learning at this point. The school refuses to fail him as it could damage his self worth. (Not sure what sitting in a class not having a clue what is going on is doing that would be better.)

There are many levels of issue.

Parents- Many have not been properly educated either so how can they help their kids? Also governments have spent years convincing citizens to give control to them. We get subsidized day care but no subsidy to have a parent stay home to raise kids. Subsidized education but not home schooling. Breakfast clubs instead of training and holding parents accountable to feed kids.

Unions- More and more restrictive on what teachers and schools can do. Lets face it they are in place for the short term benefit of their members not the education system.

Teachers- As like every career some are there for the proper reasons others to make money. Between unions, school boards, their education, income, parental indifference, "teaching systems to use" etc how do you keep caring and trying when it is easier to do what your told. And safer to your employment as well as advancement.

Teaching Systems- In our local school our current grade 9 math teacher considers the current manual so useless she has been searching the school district for 10 year old math books. Everyone is different what works for one student does not for another. So every few years some creates a new system for helping those who struggle. Since it is created for that need group it works very well. The Education system gets excited and soon the system is introduced to every student. Of course it creates new groups that can't learn as well but that is okay a new system for them will fix it. Teaching on an individual method but in a group setting is the only system that has ever worked for everyone.

Work- In my parents day they had chores to do before and after school. Often they went to bed early because they were too tired after chores, homework and a little play time to want to stay up. Today when I drive to work at 11pm I see over a dozen teens still out walking around our small country town on a school night. We have wanted to make things easier and easier for our kids to the point they are not learning the need to work.

Consequences- Most kids who don't get good grades get bumped up anyway. Teachers are powerless, parents will scream if you do fail their child,and the school boards insist on this. People have been taught that they are owed a good life, if your not getting it then it is someone else's fault and often you can go to court and force someone to give you what you deserve.

As I said it is complex, I agree with Vort that individual responsibility has been taken from us and put on the government, I don't think it was us insisting as much as them taking but the fact remains. We were made to feel guilty because we did not put our children into day care, we were told several times we were denying them the advantage of other kids.

Yet now those same people make comments on how they wish they had a close relation ship with their kids that we have. Of course then they mention how it is too bad our kids don't have tv's in their rooms, cell phones, Wii's, xbox, i-pod, computers (we do have two family ones in the living room they can use when we are around), multi-station cable (just basic cause we can't get any stations without it)

If we expect the "system" to fix what is wrong then we continue to do what Vort was commenting on. We fix things by doing right with our families and show them the difference. They keep their kids on track who have kids who have kids etc. That is how we got to this point and how we get out of it. Anything else is just another system.

Note: The motherboard in this computer is faulty and will jump lines and put words or letter in different parts and I don't always notice so most errors in this are really the computer and not the operator!

[bcguy]

He had to be held back a year. I have not thought of that time in decades so, my brother needed to go again in another year. I guess if he did not miss a year, he would graduate from high school one year after me.

One of the reasons why the education system here in BC is perhaps better then the states, the school system here does not have PE. It does not have foot ball games or other scholastic competitions against other schools. This gives the students more time for academics. Also, there are far more schools here per Kilometer then where I grewup in the Tacoma WA area. Just in my area alone, There is three schools all within 1/2 km. This may contribute to a smaller class size and thus, more attention to the students.

There is no busse's to deliver the students to schools. Kids either walk, or parents take them to school. I do not know if this is all the same thought the province. I think walking to there school might be there PE equivalent of getting in shape :) The only downside with the no buss issue, is the parents line up on the road trying to get into the parking lot to drop off there kids. It causes whole kind of problems with cars backing up traffic.

[LDSVALLEY]

One of the reasons why the education system here in BC is perhaps better then the states, the school system here does not have PE. It does not have foot ball games or other scholastic competitions against other schools. This gives the students more time for academics. Also, there are far more schools here per Kilometer then where I grewup in the Tacoma WA area. Just in my area alone, There is three schools all within 1/2 km. This may contribute to a smaller class size and thus, more attention to the students.

There is no busse's to deliver the students to schools. Kids either walk, or parents take them to school. I do not know if this is all the same thought the province. I think walking to there school might be there PE equivalent of getting in shape :) The only downside with the no buss issue, is the parents line up on the road trying to get into the parking lot to drop off there kids. It causes whole kind of problems with cars backing up traffic.

PE is big in Nova Scotia, they have it everyday. The school thing is a big issue. The school boards keep closing schools and busing kids further away. It makes a big difference when kids are not going to school in their community. Here in Berwick the school is mostly local kids which makes the school a part of the society. When local planners have an event going on they often call the school and ask the band to play for example.

[pam]

Hey if you guys would like to start a thread about the school system in Canada, you are more than welcome to.

Edited December 5, 2009 by pam

[Wingnut]

Hey if you guys would like to start a thread about the school system in Canada, you are more than welcome to.

My thoughts were more along the lines of "hey, if you guys want to start a thread about spelling and grammar that is actually serious and not mostly tongue-in-cheek, you are more than welcome to."

[LDSVALLEY]

My thoughts were more along the lines of "hey, if you guys want to start a thread about spelling and grammar that is actually serious and not mostly tongue-in-cheek, you are more than welcome to."

My grammer and spelling are not up to serious discussion about grammer and spellling!

I just best do the can I.

[LostSheep]

Note: The motherboard in this computer is faulty and will jump lines and put words or letter in different parts and I don't always notice so most errors in this are really the computer and not the operator!

Yeah...uh...my motherboard is faulty as well... I'm really five times smarter than I come off to be.

[YoungMormonRoyalist]

I had a professor once who would begin his classes with statements like, "Typos are a sin!" And my all time favorite, "I can understand one or two mistakes. But, if I see three or more on a page, I will consider it a personal insult."

A lot of students were scared him--I thought he was hilarious. Then again, we history guys are a peculiar people.

P.S. Based on my professor's standard I've personally insulted this board numerous times. Thank you for your past, present, and future forgiveness and indulgence.

You're a history person?!?!

Me too!!!!

[john doe]

I watch The History Channel a lot. Does that make me a history person?

[Wingnut]

Okay, this is really bugging me. I see it here, I see it on Facebook, I see it on blogs, I see it anywhere anyone writes anything about Christmas, and this thread is the most appropriate place to vent about it without singling anyone out.

The person is Santa Claus.

The movie is The Santa Clause.

There is no 'e' in the name Santa Claus.

[pam]

Wow wingers, you are quite defensive about a person that really doesn't exists. hahaha

[Wingnut]

I am not defensive.

[beefche]

Wow wingers, you are quite defensive about a person that really doesn't exists. hahaha

Whoa! He DOES exist! I'm friends with him on FB.