SpellCheck...
is the directional signal of the internet; no-one uses it, I swear, and it is so annoying! Call me anal, or say that I let little things bother me too much, but to see a plethora of misspelled words littering emails, articles, blogs, what have you, amazes me. It really does.
Almost any program that one can use online comes with a spellcheck, and really, it's not hard to use. Takes ,oh, maybe a minute, if that, to highlight your text, click the spellcheck tab, and fix any errors. Easy, yes? So why don't more people use it? Is it due to the fact that they were never taught the correct spellings to words from the beginning, and therefore have no idea that they are making spelling errors? Have we let so much slide in schools that proper spelling isn't viewed as that important anymore? It is especially sad to see college educated people continually misspell, and I am not referring to overly hard or lengthy words, either! If so, then shame on the schools that they attended, but that is a different topic for a different day. Is it due to the fact that with the advent of the pc, we as Americans have let our writing skills fall far by the wayside? Case in point, instant messaging, or texting on cellphones; I have glanced at some of the stuff my son has written in an IM(he knew I was there, I wasn't spying), and it's a wonder people have no idea how to spell anymore! Every word is chopped up, chewed up, and spit out into this strange , condensed mass of unintelligible gibberish that is only comprehensible to those cool enough to know the lingo( I,to the dismay of my kids, am not one of those 'cool' ones). In fact, my boys laugh at the way I still capitalize and punctuate my emails and instant messages. Yeah, so I am old and not hip; at least I can spell correctly( and I do employ spellcheck alot, as though it may sound as I think I am, I am not perfect, and I know it) for crying out loud!
So is it poor schooling, laziness, or plain apathy? I say a mixture of all of the above. For example, kid #2 of mine brought home a book report that he scored a 93% on. Excellent, yes? Yep, it was, and I was very proud of him, but as I read the paper, I picked out at least 6 words that were misspelled. So why didn't the teacher pick up on this, and just point out the errors to him, so that he could spell the words correctly in the future? Remember the days when misspellings on a school paper meant lost points? What happened? Is it that we as a society feel that ,' hey, so what's wrong with a few misspelled words here and there, it's really not that big a deal, compared to what is going on in the world today, blah, blah...' or 'we wouldn't want to make anyone feel bad by pointing out their mistakes; just let it go'. I mean, God forbid we correct anyone with the intention of helping them to improve! sigh....
Ok, so maybe I am anal about spelling; but I just feel that along with letter writing( you know, the kind done with paper and pen), proper spelling, and caring about how one spells is a dying art, something that once left to fall too far away will be very difficult to bring back, if at all. That's all, my aimless ranting is over now, and hey, feel free to spellcheck this; go on, I dare ya!
Almost any program that one can use online comes with a spellcheck, and really, it's not hard to use. Takes ,oh, maybe a minute, if that, to highlight your text, click the spellcheck tab, and fix any errors. Easy, yes? So why don't more people use it? Is it due to the fact that they were never taught the correct spellings to words from the beginning, and therefore have no idea that they are making spelling errors? Have we let so much slide in schools that proper spelling isn't viewed as that important anymore? It is especially sad to see college educated people continually misspell, and I am not referring to overly hard or lengthy words, either! If so, then shame on the schools that they attended, but that is a different topic for a different day. Is it due to the fact that with the advent of the pc, we as Americans have let our writing skills fall far by the wayside? Case in point, instant messaging, or texting on cellphones; I have glanced at some of the stuff my son has written in an IM(he knew I was there, I wasn't spying), and it's a wonder people have no idea how to spell anymore! Every word is chopped up, chewed up, and spit out into this strange , condensed mass of unintelligible gibberish that is only comprehensible to those cool enough to know the lingo( I,to the dismay of my kids, am not one of those 'cool' ones). In fact, my boys laugh at the way I still capitalize and punctuate my emails and instant messages. Yeah, so I am old and not hip; at least I can spell correctly( and I do employ spellcheck alot, as though it may sound as I think I am, I am not perfect, and I know it) for crying out loud!
So is it poor schooling, laziness, or plain apathy? I say a mixture of all of the above. For example, kid #2 of mine brought home a book report that he scored a 93% on. Excellent, yes? Yep, it was, and I was very proud of him, but as I read the paper, I picked out at least 6 words that were misspelled. So why didn't the teacher pick up on this, and just point out the errors to him, so that he could spell the words correctly in the future? Remember the days when misspellings on a school paper meant lost points? What happened? Is it that we as a society feel that ,' hey, so what's wrong with a few misspelled words here and there, it's really not that big a deal, compared to what is going on in the world today, blah, blah...' or 'we wouldn't want to make anyone feel bad by pointing out their mistakes; just let it go'. I mean, God forbid we correct anyone with the intention of helping them to improve! sigh....
Ok, so maybe I am anal about spelling; but I just feel that along with letter writing( you know, the kind done with paper and pen), proper spelling, and caring about how one spells is a dying art, something that once left to fall too far away will be very difficult to bring back, if at all. That's all, my aimless ranting is over now, and hey, feel free to spellcheck this; go on, I dare ya!
posted by Christine at 5:20 PM
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