...Can you read?

[Chicklet]

Okay, now this is the stupidest thing ever.

Keep in mind that I don't have a high-school diploma. I thought that it was BS so I got out when I was 16, got my GED, and went straight to college for a couple years.

I work with a lot of people. More than a good number of them have a high school education (if not I'd feel really, really dumb...i mean...I don't want to work with complete idiots, right?) But almost none of them can spell.

"Chelsea, how do you spell "Dolmas?"

"D-O-L-M-A-S"

"D-O-S-"

"No, D-O-....etc"

This one girl picked this sign up yesterday and said "Hey, Chelsea, what's this word?"

"Celery," I told her. I haven't been able to look her in the eye since.

Why can't this girl, 19 yrs old, straight out of high school, read the word "celery"?!

I want to know.

-Chicklet

 

[Guest]

Why can't this girl, 19 yrs old, straight out of high school, read the word "celery"?!

I want to know.

-Chicklet

She was off the sick the day they taught "Spelling for Vegetables."

Slightly un-tastefully,

Lou

Ps. I get ya Chicklet, that kind of thing dumbfounds me too.

 

[destinie21]

Sorry to break it to you chicklet but there are fools all about us. I went to university graduated early and all but even while I was there I met people who I know had to sleep their way somewhere because they could barely write a grocery list let alone a University level essay.

 

[Icingsugar]

Why can't this girl, 19 yrs old, straight out of high school, read the word "celery"?!

I want to know.

-Chicklet

Without having any more insight into the situation of this particular kid, have you considered dyslexia? It sounds just like a girl I know. Pretty normal, not a dimwit otherwise, but she stumbles when reading any word more then two syllables long.

 

[Icingsugar]

Re: Re: ...Can you read?

Or it's just a product of the glorious education machinery of today.

 

[ffreak]

I think the worst thing about people not being able to spell simple words, is that it's indicative that no one ever read the great stories to them as a child. I have siblings, children and grandchildren who all 'hated' to read. But after reading to them at the dinner table over the years, each has turned out to love reading. They all spell very well (better than me... maybe that's not so hard), and the two oldest now own their own company. Oh, by the way, one of those two has dyslexia and his favorite book, one that took him three months to complete, is The Sword of Shanarra.

Ok, enough bragging about my kids (and yes I have pictures, and no I'm not going to post them here).

When I was in high-school they offered a Shakespeare course taught by a working Shakespearian actor. You should have heard him recite "To thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night, the day, thou canst not be false to any man."

The point is that whenever reading is a chore or punishment to a child, no matter what the reason is, they will not learn to read or spell. They need the joy and pleasure of hearing a good, absorbing story. How many of the kids with that 'I graduated' diploma actually paid any attention in school? How many ever heard a story that grabbed their attention?

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I heard about this dyslectic child who loved Harry Potter (don't we all?), and the kid has read ALL the books, even the latets, brick-sized one, OotP.
Where there's a will, there's a way... Then again, I suppose it doesn't matter very much if you're dyslectic when you're reading words like Mimbulus Mimbletonia and Occlumency...

I freak out when grown people make mistakes regarding spelling or grammar, unless they're immigrants who haven't mastered the new language yet. The worst thing I have ever heard was in senior high school, when an 18-year-old asked another what the... "present tense" meant.

 

[ffreak]

Everyone gets tense about their presents when they tick.

 

[oggbashan]

There might be a simple explanation in the UK for not knowing "celery".

One of my wife's friends was appointed as a Geography teacher. It was her second posting since qualifying.

She could teach geography. She just didn't know the words for daily living.

Why?

She was Welsh, from a Welsh-speaking part of Wales. She spoke Welsh at home, with her friends at school, at her University (in Wales) and in the shops.

Her Geography course had been taught in English but she lived in Welsh.

Her first hurdle was that her furnished flat didn't have everything she needed. She wanted a colander to drain salad.

How do you ask for a colander if you don't know the English word for it and haven't got an English/Welsh dictionary because you thought you knew English?

Eventually she managed to mime using a colander sufficiently well to get one. She couldn't enter the shop after that without getting a cheerful smile from the staff. She'd amused them all for about 20 minutes.

Og

 

[CrazyyAngel]

The worst thing I have ever heard was in senior high school, when an 18-year-old asked another what the... "present tense" meant.

Maybe that isn't as bad as you think ... I don't have the slightest clue about grammar rules, neither in german nor in english. I just use them ... Ok, I know what present tense means, in both languages ... but if I would have to make a test in school and they tell me to transform certain sentences into another grammar form ... uh ... then I am lost.

But you are right, it is kinda sad, when grown people are not able to speak properly, but should be able to do so.

Oh and chicklet ... I didn't even know what the word celery means, let alone how to pronounce it ... Well, but there is always an online dictionary to help you out

CA

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Oh, come on!!! "Celery"??? You know what a wine cellar is, right? So, "celery" means "like a cellar". Duh!

 

[CrazyyAngel]

Oh, come on!!! "Celery"??? You know what a wine cellar is, right? So, "celery" means "like a cellar". Duh!

I just pretend this is directed at me ... . Ahm .. yes, cellar .. right .

Ok, joke aside ... I consider myself pretty good with the english language, but some words I just haven't heard yet. It surprises me also every time ... but even I can learn new things now and then

CA

 

[Quasimodem]

. . . Why can't this girl, 19 yrs old, straight out of high school, read the word "celery"?. . .

You have heard of the term "brain fart?" It can happen to anyone, but chronic mental flatulence suggests dyslexia, or some other form of learning disorder. Bad instruction is another possibility. Finally, a personality type exists who use questions as a tool to gain attention.

How frequent are these dumb questions? Is she only deficient in spelling? Is there any pattern in the questions she asks? Pattern recognition, direction, or questions about sequences?

Insist that she looks each word up, then check later that she spelled it correctly. If she can’t find the word in the dictionary, there is more reason to suspect a learning disorder like dyslexia.

There are techniques for overcoming dyslexia, but the first step is always diagnosis. Depending upon schools, even parents, to diagnose this is often unproductive. Many students have fallen through the cracks of the education system, are passed by, and never have their problems addressed.

 

[MathGirl]

Lexiconographically speaking

I occasionally want to write a word of which I'm not sure of the spelling. It would be nice to be able to click onto a dictionary and look it up without opening a primitive dictionary made from trees or putting a disk in the drive. They're equally time consuming. I hate to misspell words, so I usually just use a different word.

Is there a dictionary on the Net that can be downloaded, stored on the hard drive, and accessed with a click?

M "Noah" G

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Go to www.m-w.com and, if you're using IE, download the Merriam-Webster Toolbar. It adds a search box to your browser, so you can look up words in the dictionary or thesaurus. You need to be online to use it, but it saves a lot of time.

 

[pop_54]

Hmmmmm

This child was more likely confused about, 'what celery was' rather than how to spell or pronounce the word, lacking in common sense and all round knowledge rather than thick.
Dragged up eating micro-wave TV meals leaves a lot of kids confused about such things as real foods.

She probably had no idea that white'sh green stick that tasted queer and gave her a weird sensation in the back of her throat when she ate it was 'celery', hmm bit like a dick I suppose in that way.

Real dyslexics don't ask how to spell or pronounce words, they always try to read them, cock it up, and get laughed at, I know I was one when young. Still am if I lose consentration when reading or writing and get my mords wudled up.

Spelling, same as MG, I often wish I could impress by using big words but stumble with a few. (OK a lot).

The standard of general education is crap however, well not crap teachers as such, but crap system, lack of funds, and disinterested parents who sit their kids in front of the telly with a micro-wave meal every night instead of reading to them or making them read for themselves.

pops angle on it all

 

[MathGirl]

Re: Hmmmmm

Originally posted by pop_54 Spelling, same as MG, I often wish I could impress by using big words but stumble with a few.

Hiya, Pop,
Actually, I don't have trouble with the big words. It's simple things like "possess" that give me trouble.
MG
Ps. Seems like I have to look up "floccinaucinihilipilification" every time I use it.

 

[pop_54]

Re: Re: Hmmmmm

Hiya, Pop,
Actually, I don't have trouble with the big words. It's simple things like "possess" that give me trouble.
MG
Ps. Seems like I have to look up "floccinaucinihilipilification" every time I use it.

possess, wow how much bigger do you want to get woman

PS:
That other flocci'wassit thingie, I had that once, you can get pills for it now though and it doesn't even leave a rash

 

[MathGirl]

Re: Re: Re: Hmmmmm

flocci'wassit thingie, I had that once, you can get pills for it now though and it doesn't even leave a rash

Dear Pop,
Yes, we have a great deal to be thankful for, don't we?
MG

 

[The_Fool]

Sorry to break it to you chicklet but there are fools all about us...

Raises Hand

Thats me....

 

[The_Fool]

Go to www.m-w.com and, if you're using IE, download the Merriam-Webster Toolbar. It adds a search box to your browser, so you can look up words in the dictionary or thesaurus. You need to be online to use it, but it saves a lot of time.

Pointedly ignores Lauren for ignoring his post on the story that she almost slapped him to write.....

Yes I am a snot....

And yes I'm just teasing....

 

[The_Fool]

Since when did reading become a requirement for graduating High School? I mean, it's not like they have to learn....


Just ask Dan Quayle...(remember him?)

 

[destinie21]

Re: Lexiconographically speaking

I occasionally want to write a word of which I'm not sure of the spelling. It would be nice to be able to click onto a dictionary and look it up without opening a primitive dictionary made from trees or putting a disk in the drive. They're equally time consuming. I hate to misspell words, so I usually just use a different word.



Is there a dictionary on the Net that can be downloaded, stored on the hard drive, and accessed with a click?

M "Noah" G

I use this /thesaurus Dictionary

While you're online you should be able to choose the option to add the site to your favorites and then click the box to make it available offline

 

[ffreak]

I still maintain the best way to improve your vocabulary, and your understanding of the proper use of current cultural knowledge is to read. Read the news, read the editorials, read novels, read the classics.

Think you don't have time to read? Grisham did it on the train. When he wasn't reading, he was writing. Want a good shock? Read a classic and then think about all the stories and movies you've been exposed to as original that really have the same plot. In fact, I've long been convinced that used properly, education in these United States is really slanted toward the business of getting published - readin', writin', and 'rithmatic (that last part has to do with counting your royalty checks - OK, so I can use my fingers, you still need to know if they're cheating you).

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Pointedly ignores Lauren for ignoring his post on the story that she almost slapped him to write.....

Yes I am a snot....

And yes I'm just teasing....

*Pointedly ignores The Fool for ignoring the fact that I haven't been around for a week but will no doubt catch up with everything soon enough.*

Sorry