Why Sqelling is Imporkant (Why Spelling is Important)

As a parent with a son in the 5^th grade, my standards for what he should be learning in school are fairly high. But I didn’t realize how high until this week.

He brought home his school work with a fair number of words on one of his assignments was misspelled. What surprised me was that his paper was marked by his teacher with a smiley face – the universal symbol for all is well.

Well - all was definitely NOT well. The spelling errors were not called out by his teacher. So I sat down, marked what was wrong then had my son correct them. His comment to me was that if his teacher didn’t care then why was I giving him a hard time? I told him that this was what his teacher SHOULD have done, and what she should do for any student who passes through her classroom.

Boys in particular, traditionally are less engaged when it comes to reading and writing, with some finding it more difficult than others. Having students at the 5^th grade level be required to 1) write in cursive; 2) spell correctly; 3) increase their vocabulary is basic education. Anything less is just basic incompetence and honestly, malpractice. (Wouldn’t it be great if we could actually charge teachers with malpractice? That would get their attention.)

In a meeting with his teachers, I was told that the focus in on the concepts being taught in the classroom, with secondary focus on spelling. They want to know that the students can get their thoughts down on paper. I told her that having kids spew concepts without any attention to detail like spelling is horrifying to me. (And yes, I used the word, “horrifying”.)

When I asked how a child was expected to read and understand what they are reading, when they can’t spell well, I was told there was no evidence that one impacted the other. 

As a journalist and editor – a person who has made wordcraft a profession, I find this disturbing. So the county’s public elementary school children are no longer being held to a standard of excellence? Being able to spell doesn’t’ matter?

A child who does not have the ability to spell will be unable to function in a greater society. As late as the 1950s, when a person was unable to spell or write his own name, he would “make his mark” with an “x.” Is this where we are headed?

In an article “Would You Employ Someone with Poor Spelling or Grammar” posted by Jason Elsom on the-principal.com,  he states that the “chief executive of the National Governors Association has told the Independent that some of the top schools in the UK have received high-level job applications containing mistakes of spelling and grammar.” 

I have personally pitched resumes with spelling or grammar mistakes and have deleted emails from prospective intern or job candidates who have demonstrated lazy English skills. It’s a nonstarter for me, as it should be for any employer. 

While schools and teachers are saddled with this arcane Common Core curriculum, room remains for teachers and principals to incorporate the basics.  Anything less is just lazy teaching. At the very least our kids should leave school knowing how to spell a word correctly.

Apparently the concept isn’t particularly new. A colleague mentioned that in the late 1990s, the American Institutes for Research contracted to design high school exit exams in English, Math and Social Studies for the Philadelphia public schools. On the English exam, the teachers did not want to hold the students accountable for spelling or grammar errors in the test scoring. So the lackadaisical attitude among teachers has been around for a while. To Philadelphia’s credit, they never used the tests. 

My son’s teachers agreed to start being more aware of spelling issues and it also will fall to me to be sure that is backed up with action. In fact, the homework email on Thursday, read “Please remind your child that quality work is expected and neatness and accuracy is required.  Proofread for proper spelling/grammar/punctuation/capitalization.  All assignments should be titled.” 

It’s a start, I guess.

Here is the thing: Leadership is borne of people who toss the book out the window and move instead to do what’s right.

If top MCPS administrators refuse to forward that message, then perhaps a few brave ones in the ranks will.