Defiantly so

So, what does a 55 year old school teacher have to offer to the sum of human knowledge? I'm not sure but the temptation to share the occasional thought is too strong to ignore...If nothing else, this will be an exercise in mastering 21st century technology.


I'll start with the basics: Spelling. 


Does it matter? Is it important? Are teachers doing a good enough job? You've probably already seen this:Cn U Read This?

For sure, the brain tells the eye what to see...


The majority of my students, aged from 12 to 18, are not strong spellers. I'm not sure what the answer is, BUT life in 2012 has evolved remarkably from life in the 1950s. I;m not sure that we should be too hung up on the decline of good spelling.


What IS important is to teach students how to use 21st century tools to present their writing at a high standard. Such as word-processing and spell-checking.


One word that consistently causes my students difficulties is DEFINITELY. So, what's the problem, use Spellchecker, you might say. 


The problem with this is the first drop-down option that Spellchecker offers for the mispelt definitely is defiantly. Most young writers will take the unthinking option.


So, "Shakespeare is defiantly one of the greatest writers of all time" or "The character of Atticus Finch is defiantly important in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.


Maybe it's not such a bad word choice after all!