Spelling Bee should have been compulsory

[Ontheedgeofit]

Just a little light hearted post to seek out fellow spelling nerds…

I have been scrolling through a second hand clothing / preloved items app and the number of times somebody has explained that an item has sequence and not sequins is mind blowing.

Such a lovely blue sequenced dress…. 😳🤣

Any other favourites?

PS I’ve had to double check my own post for any faults of my own 😂😂😂 but besides for my iPhone auto correcting favourites to favorites, I think I’m safe!

Is it

My partner and I
or
Me and my partner

Love learning, so genuine question. I would say it’s the first option but your post has made me doubt my knowledge.

If it's a sentence opener then it's "My partner and I".

The way to tell is by removing the other person and working out whether you'd say "me" or "I". You wouldn't start a sentence with "me".

Aloud and allowed used interchangeably is what I see a lot of online.

I am now so much more tolerant as I have experience of a child with dyslexia and she struggles so much with spellings. And I just assume these people may have dyslexia.

Is using a homophone interchangeably a result of dyslexia?

Schools do teach spelling
In fact, they probably teach it far more than they did when I was in school. And we need to remember that in the 1970s there was a huge national literacy campaign because so many people had significant literacy issues.

It is not, however, valued by anyone else.

Pre social media, lots of people used written language relatively rarely. Lots of manual jobs, factories, retail etc didn't people to write so literacy levels overall were always low. I look at the FB posts of my wrinkly relatives and my jaw drops. It's just become more obvious as we communicate with the outside world in print.

Another good point but do schools mark down work if something is spelt incorrectly? This was certainly the case when I was at school but not so sure this happens anymore.

Confusion of homophones is a key indicator of dyslexia.

Yes they do. Absolutely they do.

I suppose a related point is that thanks to screens children are now being exposed to less and lower quality written language.

Before the internet they would spend more time reading books which had all been proofread before going to print.

Now they'll spend less time reading books and more time watching YouTube, but also be exposed to poorer quality written English online because most of what is on the internet is effectively self published and has been posted by people whose spelling and grammar might not be that great.

So not only does the internet expose the fact that many people can't write properly, it also contributes to people not learning to write properly in the first place. A perpetual cycle of shit.

It is in my experience.

A lot of dyslexics (not all as it is a massive spectrum and a lot more than reading and spelling) will spell very phonetically, so all they will hear and want to write is aloud when they mean allowed.

My daughter spells with numerous different ways including wif, wiv, and (I struggle with this one) wih. Its amazing how used you get to decoding a dyslexics spellings!

A spelling bee wouldn't help, but the number of people who use "of" when they should use "have" is mind-boggling.

A Mondegreen

"Hi FB Group, Please delete if not aloud but i need to ask a question - is the big ASDA open today? TIA"

So what does the future look like? Just a mish mash of words and letters that we have learnt to decode? Where the message is there but the correct use of words doesn’t matter. Much like a teenagers chat history on their phone I guess, if you had to read it you may be able to decipher what is being said but it bears no resemblance to the actual English language.

My DH is a notoriously bad speller and he asks me ‘Why does it matter? As long as you understand that’s all that matters!’ And I don’t really have an answer except for ‘It just does!’

Love it. 😂

I like Dave Gorman's take on this kind of thing. He has a knack of enjoying the Easter eggs it turns up without belittling people.

Restbite - brilliant, how apposite. Language doing its thing.

My children always thought rucksacks were rocksacks, and it was so damn cute I didn't correct them for years. When you are a small child yor rocksack might well contain your favourite rocks. I came down hard on marshmellows though (happily a nice soft landing...urgh).

To be fair, that's how spelling worked before it was standardised in the 18th century.

Just heard another one (heard not written)…

Please borrow me some money…. 💰

How about we start up a lighthearted thread about people with acne/anxiety/depression/overweight (get meds or diet). Or perhaps someone with a condition (autism/diabetes for example) that they haven't asked for, that makes their life particularly different and difficult, and not only highlight this but be righteous too.

What is clear is to me is that the righteous on here have not had to experience dyslexia themselves or another close family member. They also haven't educated themselves on what dyslexia affects apart from spelling, and the impact that this has on everyday life for many.

In my experience of having a child and now teen with dyslexia it is a constant battle in so many aspects. It impacts not only his education but everyday life. Including how he feels about himself. Luckily, and what is common with dyslexic children and adults is that they read people and not words. As this is the case they can be extremely creative problem solvers, which is a skill that only seems to be recognised in the workplace. Plus, their emotional intelligence and compassion is enviable - I'm sure it would be by some posters on this thread, the OP included.

Dyslexia is not related to the amount of cash you have/your social class/poor parenting. No amount of shaming through spelling bees/sitting them down with a book/listen to the teacher will help this.

I just find posts like this are done in really bad taste.

And for anyone that wants to check my post for spelling/grammar feel free. I really couldn't give a damn.

what's the point of your post?

Do you mean we should always have a race to the bottom, and because someone struggles, for any reason, we should lower the standards?

No amount of shaming through spelling bees/
If your little darling is not the best somewhere, we must remove the area they struggle with? Is that what you mean?

Not being first is NOT shaming. We really need to stop with that nonsense.
Teach your kids some resilience instead of trying to create snowflakes who will struggle immensely in the adult work.

Brought (bought) something at the shops.
Stopped at boarder (border) control.

Drives me nuts, I'm really good at spelling (80's kid) but let down by tiny keyboards on my devices!

I taught Textiles for 25 years. That word ‘sequences’ used to drive me mental!! I’d write it on the board, tell them how to spell it over and over again. They still fucking wrote ‘sequences’

l saw it in the Debenhams website once!

DD is dyslexic... which led to DH finding out he is dyslexic.

He holds down a professional job... but needs written reports proof reading as he can't puck up if he has used the wrong word if it scans right. It has been very educational!

Its easy to judgemental but one post on Social Media doesn't tell the whole story.

A race to the bottom 🤣 No, just the necessary interventions needed would suffice.

You're completely right - not being first isn't shaming and to expect that is nonsense.

Not wanting to feel humiliation in front of your peers is a completely normal reaction for a child. Particularly when being a dyslexic child is challenging enough on a daily basis.

And thanks for the parenting advice on my now not-so-little darling...throughout all these years I really hadn't considered how resilience may help. Should have posted years ago.

your little darling not being the best means you think it's "humiliating" for the school to hold a spelling bee.

Lack of resilience is the most polite and kindest way I can describe that attitude.