Note: I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because even though I already know how to spell without relying on modern-day technology, it’s always good to have an extra pair of eyes to edit my work.
It’s very sad what academia has come to.
According to the online edition of the UK’s Daily Mail, a Newcastle University professor said that spelling lessons in school is irrelevant nowadays because children have the technology to correct their spelling mistakes.
According to the article, Professor Sugata Mitra said spelling lessons in school may have been more relevant a century ago. He also said students could learn how to express themselves more using modern ways of communicating, like text messaging.
Professor Mitra’s reasoning is ridiculous because children are quick to understand technology; they don’t need school to learn text messaging, instant messaging, etc. I know toddlers who can work their way through an iPad with the utmost ease. The problem with children is not a lack of knowledge in technology. It’s that they rely much more on it than their own thinking to accomplish basically anything. In general, if someone doesn’t know how to spell, do you think he/she’d be able to know the difference between “too,” two” or to” without traditional spelling lessons? How about “they’re,” “their” or “there”? Personally, I cringe every time someone uses “they’re” when it’s supposed to be “there.” I definitely can’t blame technology for that mistake.
It’s funny that before publishing this post, my computer suggested I should use “there” in place of “their” in the first paragraph. But I know I used the right “their”, so I ignored the suggestion. I owe that knowledge to my grade school teachers.
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant 