It is only going to get worse. Four years ago when my son was in Kindergarten, they were teaching them phonics. Tammy and I were not happy but that was the way it was done. Two years later when Emma went in they had changed it. We asked why and we were told they were not getting good results. Now Cody struggles to read and spell. Emma is almost on his level. This year in school they are not focusing too much on spelling. Instead they are sending the work home for the parents to teach the kids. When Tammy called his teacher to inquire why we have to do it and not the school, she was told the Principle said the kids can use spellcheck if they have problems, they have to prepare them for the standardized testing.

 

It is all about passing the tests. Then they are all going to throw up their hands and say look at the test scores, we did our job. They dumbed down the educational standards for the ones who could not learn as well and are teaching everyone to be dumb.

Unreal Tim. That is so aggrivating. This must be recent, right? Within the past 5-10 years or so? Soon, kids will not even know what a good ol' No. 2 pencil is, better yet why even bother to go to school? Just do everything online! That would save X ammount of dollars in budgets for school busses, teacher salaries, supplies, buildings etc. :roll:

 

Like you said, it is all about testing so the school gets better a better grade overall. I'm sure somewhere down the line funding and grants have something to do with it.

As a second generation American, "millennial," and basically self-taught in English... I'd like to think I turned out "okay." Then of course I did opt to take three years of Latin in high school while everyone else b-tched out and took Spanish.

 

I can honestly say I have never used a single short-hand phrase except for WTF (though of course I knew them!). There is something far more elegant in articulating the point that someone should shut their mouth (of course laced with the usual profanity).

Tim, the "no kid left behind" bill is about 600 pages long! It is a disaster! It require the school to maintain certain levels of successful test scores for the school to receive their state aid. Once this bleeds down to the classroom teacher, they have to change their class curriculum to "teach to the test". This is a terrible way to run a curriculum.

When my son was two years old I send it to Apple Montessori school in Edgewater ( best money ever spend), by the time he was to start first grade living in Weehawken, I went to find out about the public school, because I

It is only going to get worse. Four years ago when my son was in Kindergarten, they were teaching them phonics. Tammy and I were not happy but that was the way it was done. Two years later when Emma went in they had changed it. We asked why and we were told they were not getting good results. Now Cody struggles to read and spell. Emma is almost on his level. This year in school they are not focusing too much on spelling. Instead they are sending the work home for the parents to teach the kids. When Tammy called his teacher to inquire why we have to do it and not the school, she was told the Principle said the kids can use spellcheck if they have problems, they have to prepare them for the standardized testing.

 

It is all about passing the tests. Then they are all going to throw up their hands and say look at the test scores, we did our job. They dumbed down the educational standards for the ones who could not learn as well and are teaching everyone to be dumb.

 

I learned to read using phonics... Obviously, it worked. I have heard horror stories about the 'whole word' approach though. Frankly, educators continue to attempt to pigeon hole every child. They all have to fit into a box, they all have to be sorted, they all have to learn the same way, they all have to fit 'their mold' otherwise they're either 'exceptional' or 'special needs'. It's foolish and destructive to education as a whole. I could go on for hours about what I have identified as shortfalls in the education system, from actual lack of education to their obvious political bias, to their teaching to the test approach. NCLB did noting to help most children.

I is the only 1 to use the right gramah cracker. But in all reality if corzine is re-elected we can progress towards not only violations of freedom of speech, but we can be forced to be both politically and grammically correct. :snooty:

I am with you Wolfy, irregardless makes me lose all spinal rigidity.

Here are some other words that come to mind.

 

BROUGHT BOUGHT brought is bringing something and bought is buying something

 

BEAR BEER BARE bear in the woods, beer (Budweiser), bare foot

 

BUY BY BYE BI buy is to give money for, by is near to or next, bye is to say goodbye, bi means two or is an abbreviation for bisexual

 

TWO TO TOO two means 2, to is expressing motion or direction toward a point, too is in addition

 

There are so many meanings for one word in the English language that I was told that the hardest language to learn was ours.

None of that crap matters, as long as I have the right to bare arms.

Have Farmers Tan will shoot.

There are so many meanings for one word in the English language that I was told that the hardest language to learn was ours.

 

Millions of two year olds don't seem to have a problem with it.

There are so many meanings for one word in the English language that I was told that the hardest language to learn was ours.

 

Millions of two year olds don't seem to have a problem with it.

 

That is when the brain is most receptive to new ideas and languages. They learn by observing and practicing. Once you get a little older, it becomes much harder to learn new languages.

Lawsuit, not lawsuite. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lawsuite

 

Principal is the head of the school and includes the word PAL, not Principle - really, it's the principle of the thing.

You must have dug deep to find this thread...

Lazarus and I are like this <crosses fingers together>...

It's not the spelling or usage of a word that gets me, it's the phrases like:

IIRC

btt

there's othere but I can't think of them right know. Maybe someone can make a glossary for us that are not computer savy.

 

IIRC annoys me too and I can never remember it even though I've been "online" since the early 90s.

 

http://www.acronymfinder.com/

http://www.acronymfinder.com/IIRC.html

 

I'm really annoyed by there/their and you're/your and I'm not an old guy. Irregardless makes me snicker. One of my former managers used it.

 

But they tell me languages are "live" and they "evolve". Devolve if you ask me...

Nice to see this old thread gaining some new life. It means we can still have some fun here.

 

Than and then--

Than is a comparator. He has more ammo stashed in his basement than Cabela's has on their shelves.

Then is a timeline indicator. First you learn the basics, then you run out and buy that .50BMG monster.

 

 

Imply and infer--

Imply is what the speaker does. Obama implied that he actually gives a crap about job creation.

Infer is what the listener does. We inferred from his speech that he's moving to the center.

 

There is no such thing as a Wheelbarrel. The device is a WheelBARROW. By the way, a barrow is a flat, rectangular frame used for carrying a load. (Thank you Dictionary.com)

 

 

Seriously? Ok, I'm guilty of that one.

I take offense to calling a Dodge Caliber an ugly vehicle. I have one and she is beautiful. I can't beleive I missed that in the OP.

I take offense to calling a Dodge Caliber an ugly vehicle. I have one and she is beautiful. I can't beleive I missed that in the OP.

 

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

 

It's BELIEVE - i before e...

You missed the granddaddy of them all: it's.

 

I see "its" spelled "it's" in numerous forums and in print all the time.

 

And "alot" is not a word. It's "a lot".

it's = it is

 

 

Here's another I was reminded of today:

 

Shinny - I suppose it's a cross between shimmy and shiny but I'm not sure.

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

 

It's BELIEVE - i before e...

I was actually going to bring up the I before E except after C rule, but figured I was just being to anal retentive....guess not.

Dan must be off his meds again to bring this thread back up.

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

 

It's BELIEVE - i before e...

 

Dan that was a typo. I do make mistakes.

 

I have 20/20 vision.

I hate when I'm typing and after I hit the space bar after a word that stupid little red squigly line appears and I don't know how to spell the damn word. Like, squigly, it's spelt wrong and yet I can't figure it out!

Two "g"s Squiggly. I know because I just typed it in another forum talking about squiggly light bulbs. I had one "g" and it was wrong.

I hate when I'm typing and after I hit the space bar after a word that stupid little red squigly line appears and I don't know how to spell the damn word. Like, squigly, it's spelt wrong and yet I can't figure it out!

 

squiggly

 

spelled

 

At this rate this thread will end in Old English