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Oregon To Let Students Use Spell Check on State Exams
Starting in 2011, the Oregon Department of Education will let students spell check their work before submitting state exams. From the article: "The move is supposed to help the assessments focus less on typos and more on their writing skills. 'We are not letting a student's keyboarding skills get in the way of being able to judge their writing ability,' said state Superintendent Susan Castillo. 'As we're using technology to improve what we're doing with assessments as a nation, we believe that spell check will be one of those tools.'"
Karma be dammed!!!!
spell checking...
I should check that spelling.
I can see it already...
"But the tool is there, so why should people have to learn proper spelling? Why should people have to learn to do math by hand if they have computers available?"
The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
Eye think eye sea what their doing hear. :-)
Ian Ameline
In a language subject such as English then spelling is a major part of the whole. And an understanding of correct spelling is very important for when you don't have access to spell-checkers.
However for any other subject they shouldn't be marked on what they're already getting marked on in English class. That overlap is simply not required imho... And the real world today lets people use spell checkers, so why not in non-English classes like the various sciences.
eye do know think it well make a difference. Eye there they no how to spell, or the checker woe ant help them. On the serious side, the ones that can't spell certainly won't know the difference between their there and they're, its and it's, which and witch, etc. A spell checker will happily help you spell the wrong word correctly, so I don't see this changing much.
They're our a lot better things to test then spelling. Know, with modern technology, kids can relay on computers to pick up on spelling mistakes and tests can concecrate on learning what students really NO
Considering that the rules apply only to exams taken by middle and high school students, by then, spelling should be less of a concern than content, structure, and adherence to the theme given for the writing. Spellcheck is a tool that they'll be using for 'real life' implementation of the skills being tested, so it seems fairly reasonable to allow them its use.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure dome decree
now we'll have to read text spelled even worse than at the moment when people don't have spell check available :/
Honestly, math students have been using calculators on exams for years now, and that's turned out well.
Forcing students to memorize the proper spelling of words is often ineffective, and teaching students to use the goddamn spellcheck would prevent far more errors.
Really? Maybe spell-check should have been used on TFA.
Lack of proofreading is still evident, such as typos that still manage to form valid but obviously incorrect words, etc.
Eye bee em will may a four tunes yelling op tickle D vices!
These kids have become so poor at spelling that we no longer know how to effectively teach them, so we're dropping it as a requirement.
My wife works with middle and high schoolers on a daily basis (she runs a youth center); as a result, we have the opportunity to view their Facebook and MySpace pages where they talk amongst themselves. We get that kids aren't going to be as concerned about spelling on an internet social networking site, but to the untrained eye it looks like they intentionally misspell each word as badly (and often as hilariously) as they possibly can. Unfortunately, for a lot of them, we know it's not intentional, they've just been ignored throughout by both their parents and their teachers.
And really, if they're worried about keyboarding being a bottleneck, then teach keyboarding.
I remember a time where I was forbidden calculators in class at ANY time, not just during exams.
Unless they believe students are using magic to cheat on the exams?
That's OK, our governor's vision for the state is to supply fast-food labor to California anyway. Or it would be if he had a vision.
Cute. Per usual it depends on the goal.
My AP English teacher ignored errors (writeo's he called them), and if I recall correctly the AP Exam did too. He expected spelling to be correct for our homework, but not for in-class exams where a 45 minute limit precluded looking-up words in a dictionary. Content & the thesis mattered more than perfection.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I'm sorry, but I was not allowed to use a calculator or any form of spell checking in grammar, middle or high school. It has prompted me to increase my vocabulary and editorial skills through the years. Spell checking apps are not flawless and should not be allowed when taking exams if the goal of the exam is to test the writing skills of a student as spelling and grammar are part and parcel of good writing skills.
Wow, I remember taking spelling classes in elementary school. In English spelling has everything to do with what you are writing, as the wrong form of a word can imply a different meaning just as punctuation makes a difference. I shudder to think how the sciences will be further butchered. Working in land survey and performing and needing to know various simple trig formulas I am amazed when I see someone who can't even understand why a particular number comes from the magic adding machine. Anyways, off topic!
'We are not letting a student's keyboarding skills get in the way of being able to judge their writing ability,' ...but you are willing to disregards one's ability to spell when assessing their writing abilities.
I have an idea. Why don't we just have adults take test for the kids or ban testing all together, then when the time comes for the kids to grow up, we'll just sell them as slaves to the Chinese.
So you're suppose to have [b]writing[/b] skills without having basic knowledge of grammar?
This is just lowering the bar so that dumb people feel smart!
This does 2 things:
-Makes US High School Diplomas worthless (Hey, if the illiterate can get through HS, why would I want to hire one with a HS Diploma?)
-Gives a false sense of confidence when they go to college.(Results: more drop outs)
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
I don't think I've ever heard a good justification for lowering standards.
Like that'll stop them from the usual:
there/their
your/you're
and pretty much everything else listed here: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/misspelling
I'm a heavy user of spell check, but in no way do I think we should rely solely on that. I have friends who still think it's spelled "congradulations" and that's not a typo. That's just tragic.
Maybe they should just have the exams spoken aloud. That way there won't be any controversy about spell checkers. If words sound the same, they can swap them any way they see fit.
Have them submit both versions that way it's easy to see how much of an impact spell-checking has on the results. Unless they're also doing a grammar check, it's not going to make the results significantly better.
There's something to be said for learning proper spelling and grammar, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a terribly great speller and that without Firefox's built-in spell-check, I'd probably end up with significantly more errors. I'd like to think of it as more of a useful tool than a crutch. Generally I try to delete and correctly spell the word, but sometimes I can't get it spelled right.
Realistically we need something to help compensate for the mangled, bastard language that is English. It's borrowed words and conventions from damn near everywhere on earth and people tend to adopt the slang and jargon it generates into common use. It's not wonder that people have difficulties with spelling.
This is just lowering the bar so that dumb people feel smart! This does 2 things: -Makes US High School Diplomas worthless (Hey, if the illiterate can get through HS, why would I want to hire one with a HS Diploma?) -Gives a false sense of confidence when they go to college.(Results: more drop outs)
I fail to see how illiterate people would benefit from a spelling checker. It's not a text to speech program--they would still have to string words together to form ideas, and write a semblance of the word for the spelling checker to offer the correct spelling.
And if the colleges allow spelling checkers--and any class that lets you type your paper in your dorm room does--then college performance won't be impacted.
Battlemaster--Game with friends in medival realms
Oregon is now officially removed from my list of places I would consider moving my family.
There are many adults that have spell check, and don't use it. If Oregon is giving them tests on a computer, fine, then grade them on that medium. If they fail to USE the spell check functionality, just fail them, or at least seriously penalize them on any test. I know that my spelling ability has degraded since I was in school simply because my process has changed to typing as fast as possible and then editing, not thinking about each letter as a type it so that red underlines won't appear. This leads to some sloppiness that has to be cleaned up after the initial pass, but it is WAY more productive for me than torturing myself over the spelling of some words, like I would if I were writing it out with a pen. If I had pen out an entire essay now, it would probably take me three or four times as long, at minimum. People use computers now, spell checking functions are built into almost all document editors, and no employer cares how you produce an error-free document as long as you do. These are high school students on the cusp of adulthood, not 3rd graders. It is way better to judge them on real word standards, not academic standards that have outlived their usefulness.
They're going to flunk anyway. A spell checker doesn't help versus using "there" or "their" or "they're". "There" refers to location ("over there"), while "their" is plural third person posessive ("their club"), and "they're" is a contraction for "they are" ("they're stuck with Windows"). Yes, I try strenuously not to be a grammar nazi.
The calculator analogy doesn't really work, because numbers are logical; the English language isn't. Driving on a parkway and parking on a driveway. We "change the baby" and come back with the same baby. We put it on a ship, and call it cargo, but then put it in a car and call it a shipment. Then, to top it off, we click "Start" to shut down the computer. I before E except after C and certain Thursdays in Leap Year January while eating peanuts under a full moon.
Bah, humbug.
I am totally discussed by this. They defiantly should not allow spell-checkers. Allot of people use spell-check as a crutch rather than a tool.
I see all three of those mistakes frequently and I can guarantee it's because of spell-checkers. It's just another step on the road towards our schools completely abandoning their jobs and turning out graduates who are even more useless in the workforce. Do I use a spell-checker? Yes. I tend to get confused between "-ant" and "-ent" on some words and other similar problems. It's helpful and saves me from having to use the dictionary as much. But can I communicate just fine without a spell-checker? Definitely, yes. If you can't, then a spell-checker is just going to make you look like more of an idiot, plus you'll never learn the right way to spell things.
Of course, the best solutions to all of these problems is for kids (and everyone else) to read, read, read. And I'm not talking about /. (I once saw a kid bragging about his literacy by citing how much he read Digg. At least I hope it was a kid...) Dig out some real books and read them. Newspapers and most magazines don't count (for learning the language anyway... they might be fine for informational purposes). Better yet, sprinkle your reading with liberal doses of material older than 50 years, preferably older than 100. That will do more than any class to improve your language skills, spelling and grammar.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
Not taking the effort to spell correctly or use proper grammar is a sign that you don't think your audience is worth it (assuming it's not merely a sign of ignorance). Why should arrogance be rewarded?
Spell checkers are a part of the technology for a reason. If you use the technology you get to use the spell check too just like grown ups because keyboards are still a crap way to input text and users deserve a pass on typos. There are other means to check spelling if it really is a problem, but the English language has got along just fine with alternative spellings. Perhaps if it were a grammar checker that would be different.
Nullius in verba
This will "defiantly" fix the problem.
You herd me.
Wasting cycles on spelling is asinine. If they're truly illiterate, they probably won't do well on the test anyway. It's not like our spelling rules REALLY make sense, nor were they enforced until the last century or two.
Stephen Wolfram argued for using computer algebra systems for maths courses, as that allows more real maths skills to be developed instead of mechanistic formula manipulation skills.
In my opinion spelling should be correct in texts other people want me to read. And I want some interesting content. Computers can take care of the first problem, leaving people more time to develop their skills for solving the second one.
It's time to stop living in the past and realize that our brain power can be put to better use than idiotic grammar rules. I don't think even pessimistic people can say we'll still need to even use our brains in another 100 years as computers will be able to update our facebook profiles for us.
Just weight the grading system appropriately. Proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation is PART of writing. Make sure those who are able to construct sentences, spell, and punctuate at or above their level get sufficient credit for the multiple years of effort, but don't let minor errors stand in the way of a high grade on content.
60% Content (Response to question, validity of argument, validity of examples, complexity of argument)
20% Structure (Uses sentences and paragraphs to organize response. Uses topic and conclusion sentences and paragraphs.)
10% Grammar
5% Spelling (-1% for every 3 spelling errors, 5% cap of loss)
5% Punctuation (-1% for every 3 punctuation errors, 5% cap of loss)
Welcome to the real world of educational evaluation. This is why standardized testing cannot replace subjective reading and review. If you want to get correct results, you have to put in the effort.
If you just let students use spell-checkers, they're never going to bother to learn the damn words and you'll breed a generation of people who don't care about the words they use or how they use them. Then communication suffers overall. -- There's a reason we put in the effort.
It is good that they don't care about spelling anymore. Spelling errors are a good excuse to fire employees that I don't like. The worse they spell the easier it is to fire them.
- Broad refuses to give me a blowjob - fired for bad spelling.
- Slackers go on strike - fired for bad spelling.
- Idiot is on medical or pregnancy leave - fired for bad spelling.
- Douche gives me an attitude and thinks he's smarter than me - fired for bad spelling.
- Need to make room because my daughter wants to work in my company - fire someone for bad spelling.
I think this is awesome. Keep it going!
My point is:
w%d u hire sum1 hu finx dis S proper en or S unabl 2 tel d diff?
Translation courtesy of
http://www.lingo2word.com/translatetxt.php?searcher1=word&tosearch1=Create+Cool+Text+Messages+,+Just+Type+Your+Message+in+the+left+box
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
I wasn't aware that wicca was that popular in Oregon. In Massachusetts, maybe, but in Oregon it seems a bit strange.
why not let them use dragon?
But a spelling checker is not going to handle that--firefox only fixed a single word (unable). So it's not the doom and gloom scenario you are imagining.
Battlemaster--Game with friends in medival realms
Really, who cares how they spell things in Oregon? Personally, I find all this talk about improving our education system quite unpatriotic. How would the US survive if its population became well-educated? Who would fight wars? Who would overpay taxes? Who would bother to vote? Who would watch TV, do Christmas shopping, eat fast food, or shop at Walmart? Oregon can't sustain our entire economy, you know. We all need to pitch in. Good education is a privilege, not a right.
I'll bet the real reason is because they are getting tired of tests with the students name spelled wrong on them.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
But wait!!! We can't judge little Snowflake Precious the third! He got his trophy for standing still at soccer camp, he got his stickers for showing up in kindergarten and will eventually get his bariatric surgery to get him through eating whatever he wants and not taking care of himself later in life.
wa hapnz wen shtoodinz speeleeng i zoh ba da du splell chexor don wurc rie?
With one child in elementary school and one in high school, this comes as no surprise. For many school districts, standards have dropped to excruciatingly low levels. According to some measures, Oregon is ranked near the bottom in K-12 performance (see link at bottom of this post). In my opinion, this action is not about the kids; it's not about reducing their stress on typos. Rather, this is about the school system finding a way to get higher scores and look a little better. If the students cannot perform on their own, a convenient solution is to let computers help them get them higher scores on standard tests.
The question I have is why stop there? Last I checked, computers are good at basic math. Why not let the computers fix "typos" in math problems, too? And if a student accidentally fills in the wrong multiple choice -- surely, that was a genuine mistake -- then why not have the computer provide gentle suggestions for those as well?
Seriously, the school system has it backward. They should not be fixing "typos" in standard tests so the kids will "feel better" -- they should be focused on providing an exceptional education, especially at elementary grade levels, so kids have the foundation and wherewithal to identify their own typos. Tiny, reactive steps like this will not fix the problem. They simply mask and exacerbate the situation -- hide the bloody obvious -- and do not take accountability or responsibility for our kids or future.
While I would like to say Oregon is at the bottom of this educational mess, a more appropriate metaphor is that Oregon is the tip of the spear -- gladly leading our great Nation into an educational and, hence, economical cesspool. As terrible as it is to say, we're the leaders. Unless the status quo changes, the rest of the nation will mistake this cesspool for cotton candy and jump right in. Why wait?
Numbers on Oregon's educational performance: http://www.oregoncatalyst.com/index.php/archives/1117-Oregon-Education-Among-Very-Worst-in-the-Nation.html
Good lord, looking at this make me think they deliberately tortured me in English classes between 9'th and 12'th grade.
- Two term papers each grade. Worth 20 or 30 percent of your final grade (could not remember which).
- Grammar errors -1 point each in term papers.
- Spelling errors -2 points each in term papers.
- It was possible to get a negative score on a term paper.
- All had to be typed. I typed at the paltry rate of 20wpm even after taking a typing class.
- One could not "graduate" 9'th grade English without passing the spelling exam.
- There was also a 7'th grade spelling test that was taken before HS.
And you know what? Even though I hated it, it was worth it. The only problem with this was that it was all about function and not content. Emphasis on creative writing and actual communication of one's thoughts was next to nothing. It took me 5 years of Fight-O-Net and local BBS networks to figure out how to connect my brain with my fingertips and actually enjoy writing.
--
BMO
It wasn't that long ago I went through school In university, we were forbidden to use calculators in any class where it would be an advantage.
In the classes we were allowed to, it was because it was going to be pointless... (we dealt mainly with variables...)
It got so bad, even on exams that needed a final numerical answer, I would just do all the calculations as variables... then when I had finished all the question, I'd go back and try and do the final calculations.
Today, that really helps me as a software developer... that skill of treating everything as a variable and abstracting it out.
In any case. After graduating as an engineer, I taught high school math and computer science for a while.
With education there is a real fantasy.
Sure, we'd love to get rid of objective boring tests that can be passed just by rote learning.
But there's a few big problems with this.
1. Kids cheat...and I mean... cheat a lot. The more 'project' work you give them, the more leeway they have to just cheat or copy or leach off others in group assignments.
2. Simple objective testing acts as a filter. And more explanatory or subjective testing... turns out to be rote learning. Take something as simple as fractions. Now if you're a good math student, you will understand what you're doing with fractions (common denominators, cross multiplying...). Great. Sure, you could just be rote learner and memorize the steps. Yet, you know that shows some skill to memorize those steps.
What is worse is when you ask for a paragraph asking them to explain fractions (yes... as a teacher, I had to do this one year). They just rote memorized the explanation :P
3. Memorization is a part of life. Not everyone is destined for a job as a free-thinking creative person. Heck, most jobs are not that. Most jobs are learning to do a skill really really really well. Even for someone as skilled as a brain surgeon. Would I want someone creative as a brain surgeon? Or would I want someone who memorized everything about the brain, the operation, and practiced the operation day in and day out?
Would you perhaps tune out some more creative people... possibly. But another part of schooling as learning to deal with handling instruction, working hard...
Most smart students have no problem with some rote learning. There are *some* smart students who do, and they tend to have attitude problems. I think they're either destined for greatness or nothing. The smartest guy I knew in University had this problem too. Brilliant guy... but last heard, he wasn't working... he was thinking of ideas traveling the far east. They're not really going to benefit from normal education anyways.
Now you certainly need a balance. I think you assign some marks to English grammar and spelling on any test. Even if it's a history class where you're not directly testing English.
As a historian, are you not going to be writing essays? Even as a software developer, are you not going to be writing specs, emails, user documentation...?
Life is not dissected into such neat little boxes called subjects... and neither should education.
"spell check"
I think that you meant to say "spelling checker".
Obviously student laziness is not a factor... God damn it I used spell-check on 'laziness'. What has technology done to writing/me? T_T
Boredom is bliss.
as for tests why not Google? The real world is not closed book.
I've lived in Oregon almost my whole life, and went through public school here. My first thought on reading this is that a number of district leaders who have historically poor performance measures must be pressuring the state to allow this. See, in Oregon, we have this extremely backwards system where if a district is slipping in terms of the students' performance on standardized tests, that district is punished by having funding taken away. This of course worsens the district still further, leading to more decline, leading to more fiscal punishment... I'm sure a lot of these districts are hurting these days with students who consistently score low on the English tests because of spelling problems, and they see this as a way for them to boost their scores (and therefore, their funding levels) so that hopefully, just maybe, the schools can get back on their feet and start TEACHING again.
It's a fucked up situation but it's not the school districts' fault. It is the insane policy of the State of Oregon to seek out underperforming districts and attack them by pulling funding. If they'd stop doing THAT, maybe the districts could focus on education again instead of getting the kids to pass standardized tests at a particular level.
And to top it off, I flubbed the title.
Derp.
--
BMO
It's more about lowering the value of a university diploma instead of the value of a high school diploma in my opinion. Lower standards mean more people can get one and the more people with a university diploma means you can offer a lower wage.
I've got a co-worker who constantly spells pretty as pritty, through as threw among other things. I make plenty of mistakes but that's just awful. He has a CS degree and I just think even if he knows his shit how can he expect to ever work his way up in a company when he can't even communicate without looking like an ass?
Seems to me that spelling is a proper subset of writing, yes? And therefore, proficiency in writing necessarily entails proficiency in spelling.
I think attention to correct spelling, grammar, and usage has largely fallen by the wayside because there it has become popular to criticize such attention to detail as being fussy or anal-retentive. People who point out these errors are derided for being pedantic, petty, and nitpicking. After all, if the meaning or intent is clear, why get hung up on the details? Perhaps this is a legitimate position in colloquial language, but in a literary and academic context, proficiency in such "minutiae" is a demonstration that one is adequately educated. Therefore, it is unacceptable to allow students to rely on spell-checkers (they aren't foolproof, in any case). The analogy between spell-checking software and a calculator is flawed, because a calculator can facilitate the teaching of more advanced mathematical concepts by making short work of tedious arithmetic, whereas a spell-checker only points out errors that the writer has already made. That is to say, a modern mathematician or engineer is not going to calculate trigonometric functions by hand. A modern writer, however, should be sufficiently educated in spelling and grammar to not need to rely on a spell-checker to write well. The rare or occasional check or proofreading is appropriate and expected, but there is no outright reliance on automated spell-checking. And for a student who is learning how to write well, a necessary part of that process is to learn from one's mistakes. As is the case with arithmetic, accuracy improves most quickly when the safety net is removed.
In theory funding schools based on performance may be a good idea, but in practice it does a disservice to students. School administrations have become like corporate management, where they only care about next quarter's performance and not care or think about the long-term picture. They just want their returns, bonuses, profits. Students more and more are being taught to beat the standardized tests rather than the actual subject matter. My wife is a university professor and she is starting to see some of these same pressures being applied to state universities. It is only a matter of time before public universities fall victim to the same disease unless we change course as a society. With regards to calculators, I do not see problems with calculators AS LONG AS the students show all the intermediate steps on paper. I used calculators for math in highschool, but if I didn't show every step of the solution then I'd lose major points. Calculators were used as a tool to verify your work, not a tool to do the work for you. Things may be different now and showing the work may no longer be necessary and students can just let their calculators do all the work for them. It would not surprise me.
So, if I don't need to use Spell Check, and refuse to use it, but still get the spelling right, would I get bonus marks?
I mean, I obviously would have demonstrated that I'd learned more.
In the real world, the whole class would take the test together, and instead of grading it, the teacher would correct any errors before submitting their work as his own.
When you're afraid to download music illegally in your own home, then the terrorists have won!
In the real world, the teacher would not even read it before submitting it as its work. Very often he would be unable to see if there are any error in it. And it would work because no one else is going to read it either.
That's it. Just fucking stupid.
expandfairuse.org
"I see all three of those mistakes frequently and I can guarantee it's because of spell-checkers."
And you are completely wrong. Spell checkers check spelling and not word use.
"It's just another step on the road towards our schools completely abandoning their jobs and turning out graduates who are even more useless in the workforce."
It's not the job of the schools to turn out graduates for the workforce. It's the job of the schools to educate. There is a difference. You are thinking of technical schools. In any case, our schools are little changed from the 19th century. In which case there is no problem with the graduates they are turning out. It just happens that those jobs don't seem to be in great demand.
The problem with most people complaining about the use of technology in schools (strange concept on Slashdot) is that they have no concept about the test goals. I have actually scored these types of exams. They test state education standards, ultimately set by the legislature. The states require college graduates to score these tests (the non multiple choice portion). Each test is scored by at least two people who have to agree within a point on each response (each response is generally worth between 0 and 5 points). You have about a minute or two to score a test consisting of an essay or up to 5 or 6 math or science questions. On a five point essay, the values break down roughly as follows: 0, no or minimal response, 1, they tried to answer, 2, they have a coherent answer or a paragraph or more that is somewhat coherent, 3, the response is good, 4, the response is really good (college bound), 5, they probably can write better than me or have real talent. States typically expect scores to average between 2 and 3. The essays are graded as a whole, which means that spelling and punctuation and the like are minor issues. If it is really bad, it might cost them a point. But it is very unlikely that they have good writing and poor spelling that would justify a lower score. I've never seen it on a standardized test.
The graduates you are complaining about always existed. You just never looked for them. They are everywhere, including management. I've worked for many of them.
In the real world, people have access to spell checking every time they use computers, but still don't use it. If the schools beat it into kids early enough, it might help advance the cause of coherent communication—but more likely, the only kid in the class who actually knows how to spell (the overachieving nerd who goes back and re-reads every answer on her test three times to make sure she crossed every T and dotted every I before turning it in) will be the only one using it.
MSIE: The world's most standards-complaint web browser.
Stupid Oregon. 'tards.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
We are not letting a student's keyboarding skills get in the way of being able to judge their writing ability
Yup. Because keyboarding skills are not important at all on the job market.
as for tests why not Google? The real world is not closed book.
Because tests are not the real world, you utter imbecile.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Not at all, but the poster's point was that certain knowledge is no longer necessary, freeing up our minds for other types.
It is a much more efficient use of learning time learning concepts and how to locate information than it is to memorize random facts.
Is there even any research to back up either of your claims?
Here are some thoughts. Since the result of the spell checker is properly spelled words, the reader's brain must be recognizing them as properly spelled, or else efficient communication (the point of spelling) would not be occurring. Perhaps the process of learning to spell the words improves (directly or indirectly) the understanding of the words, improving your vocabulary. And I seriously doubt anyone claims that spelling "takes up space" from "other types of certain knowledge". This all just sounds like trying to handwave away laziness and sloppiness.
(I just now clicked on "sloppyness" to fix it, because as soon as I wrote it, I knew it was probably "sloppiness".)
... they're not allowed at Hogwarts.
He got all ___ when we found out that he ___ that book.
When I read the posts on Slashdot I rarely spend time bothering with those where the word 'their' has been substituted for 'there' or any similar blunder. The odd mistake here and there doesn't really matter but when a person persistently gets it wrong it goes a long way to indicate whether or not they are well educated or not.
It is noticeable that the posts which argue most convincingly in favour of a lax application of the rules are themselves generally written in lucid, correct English, while the least convincing posts are often written in a semi literate style.
Sure, go ahead and break the rules, but at least first find out what the rules are so that you understand what it is you are breaking.
thatz jus dum!
And you're still typing on a typewriter, apparently.
Sam
Richard Mitchell wrote entire books explaining why you don't skirt on basic skills. Also compare EWD1300. And, while at it, RFC1855. Or ask the navy why they're so stuffy. Of course, that's the other extreme. But that's no excuse to go where oregon is heading. We've been there, and we call it the dark ages. This is possibly a good argument why not to use computers in the classroom, except for the touch-typing course, maybe. Typewriters would do fine there too, mind, and they need a lot less upgrading and maintaining.
Me? I don't use spell checkers except the mark one eyeball. Proofread, proofread, proofread. It's that simple. What I do? Previously a unix and networks admin. Then a C and C++ software engineer. Now, "between jobs". Maybe I should lose my tyop1ng sk1llz and get some huggy-feely job working for an online^Wfacebook-based surveys-for-marketeering job? Naaah.
Employers should use literacy tests to sort wheat from chaff.
Should society tolerate employees with dyslexia, or should it put them on the disability dole?