THOUGHTS FOR PRESERVICE AND BEGINNING TEACHERS (38)

I weep for the way in which spelling has been discounted in this modern day and age. Too often the elements of word study are neglected and ‘anything goes’. Teacher too often do not know how to teach spelling and do not know how to spell themselves. Spelling, grammatical constructs, word usage and application including meaning, are discounted.

When I trained as a teacher in 1968 – 69, one of our ‘method’ units was the teaching of spelling. Furthermore, we were required to sit a test of 100 spelling words and were allowed one error. An error included writing the word, realising it was wrong and correcting that word. Failure required the test to be sat again and again and again. The test HAD to be passed before trainees graduated. Failure meant one did not graduate until such time as the test was mastered.

A far cry from then until now, when it often seems anything goes. Dear teachers of today and tomorrow, how I hope you will help reverse that trend by teaching spelling.