I need to know....

[Pottsy]

2. Why don't schools teach kids to f***ing spell?

My daughter wrote "humongous" in a story. The teacher crossed it out, wrote "humungus", and made her write it 20 times to drill the error in!

He's a top fella, but geez.

[Pseudo]

My daughter wrote "humongous" in a story. The teacher crossed it out, wrote "humungus", and made her write it 20 times to drill the error in!

[Psyber]

It is not really an English word at all, but a recently made up Americanism, as this dictionary reference points out: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humungous
However, as far as it goes your daughter was right and the teacher should get an imposition..
I first heard it used in speech during the mid 1970s.

[Pottsy]

It is not really an English word at all, but a recently made up Americanism, as this dictionary reference points out: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humungous
However, as far as it goes your daughter was right and the teacher should get an imposition..
I first heard it used in speech during the mid 1970s.

Fair enough.

I used to be pretty annoyed at the whole "americanism" thing, drilling it in to the kids.

Then I read this by Bill Bryson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_Tongue_(book), and I've decided to just relax about the whole thing. English is in such a perpetual state of flux that it's not a major concern that it's changing. The word "nice" has had over 50 meanings over time, not all of them nice...

Just spell them properly!

[JAS]

It is not really an English word at all, but a recently made up Americanism, as this dictionary reference points out: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humungous
However, as far as it goes your daughter was right and the teacher should get an imposition..
I first heard it used in speech during the mid 1970s.

Fair enough.

I used to be pretty annoyed at the whole "americanism" thing, drilling it in to the kids.

Then I read this by Bill Bryson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_Tongue_(book), and I've decided to just relax about the whole thing. English is in such a perpetual state of flux that it's not a major concern that it's changing. The word "nice" has had over 50 meanings over time, not all of them nice...


Just spell them properly!

Totally agree get the spelling right...great book (love all Bryson's stuff) and it does make you think about how language evolves and changes. That said I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to kill people who say 'aluminum' instead of 'aluminium'

Regards
JAS

[lesthemechanic]

2. Why don't schools teach kids to f***ing spell?

That could also be in the "things that give me the shits" thread

I blame computers and spell check (not the person) for lack of spelling and grammar, on the computer there is no excuse, use spell check!

I don't know if I want them to teach my kids to spell. My 9y.o. daughter came home from school last week with a note from her teacher letting us know she had fallen over at school at lunchtime & had a ......wait for it........." saw cheek" !!!!

[Pottsy]

It is not really an English word at all, but a recently made up Americanism, as this dictionary reference points out: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/humungous
However, as far as it goes your daughter was right and the teacher should get an imposition..
I first heard it used in speech during the mid 1970s.

Fair enough.

I used to be pretty annoyed at the whole "americanism" thing, drilling it in to the kids.

Then I read this by Bill Bryson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_Tongue_(book), and I've decided to just relax about the whole thing. English is in such a perpetual state of flux that it's not a major concern that it's changing. The word "nice" has had over 50 meanings over time, not all of them nice...


Just spell them properly!

Totally agree get the spelling right...great book (love all Bryson's stuff) and it does make you think about how language evolves and changes. That said I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to kill people who say 'aluminum' instead of 'aluminium'

Regards
JAS

I agree...BUT...would you believe that aluminum is the original term? The bloke that discovered it named it aluminum, but others called it aluminium in the interests of consistency with other metals - calcium, magnesium etc. How annoying.

[fisho mcspaz]

Ugh, I hate it when people say 'aluminum'. Mr Ex-McSpaz and all his weirdo family say it because they are American. And they say 'Adidas' a strange way too.

[Q.]

Adeeeedis

[fisho mcspaz]

Adeeeedis

Yes, just like that!

[spell_check]

Aloominum and adeedis, can hear those in my head right now.

[Psyber]

2. Why don't schools teach kids to f***ing spell?

That could also be in the "things that give me the shits" thread
I blame computers and spell check (not the person) for lack of spelling and grammar, on the computer there is no excuse, use spell check!

What gives me the shits is the amount of software that installs English US as the default like M$ Office, and you have to go to a lot of trouble to get English AU or English GB installed instead.
I have now downloaded Firefox and T/bird from Mozilla Europe rather than the main Mozilla site, which at least solves that issue with them.

[wycbloods]

2. Why don't schools teach kids to f***ing spell?

That could also be in the "things that give me the shits" thread

I blame computers and spell check (not the person) for lack of spelling and grammar, on the computer there is no excuse, use spell check!

I don't know if I want them to teach my kids to spell. My 9y.o. daughter came home from school last week with a note from her teacher letting us know she had fallen over at school at lunchtime & had a ......wait for it........." saw cheek" !!!!

That is gold!

[JK]

Ugh, I hate it when people say 'aluminum'.

Right on sister, I hate that one also .. Along with 'Nucular', and eve "Tunafish" ,, Surely everyone knows Tuna is a damn fish?

Whilst we're on the topic of wanting to know something, I watched a movie last night where an adult character couldn't swim .. Does anyone know an adult that actually can't swim (not even a little bit)?

[fisho mcspaz]

Mr Ex-McSpaz can't swim. This is owing to his mother, who would not let him take swimming lessons as a child in case he drowned.

He also cannot ride a bike because his mother would not let him have one in case he got run over.

[Footy Chick]

Mr Ex-McSpaz can't swim. This is owing to his mother, who would not let him take swimming lessons as a child in case he drowned.

He also cannot ride a bike because his mother would not let him have one in case he got run over.

I lived in town as a kid so wasn't allowed to have a bike for the very same reason, but I was allowed to have roller skates...go figure

[Psyber]

Mr Ex-McSpaz can't swim. This is owing to his mother, who would not let him take swimming lessons as a child in case he drowned.
He also cannot ride a bike because his mother would not let him have one in case he got run over.

I lived in town as a kid so wasn't allowed to have a bike for the very same reason, but I was allowed to have roller skates...go figure

I had trikes, bikes, roller skates, stilts, spears, bows and arrows, wooden swords and shilelds, swam, ran and climbed, and the worst that ever happened was a broken collar bone.
My parents were probably right to ban the motor bike when I first got my driving licence though, although I didn't see it at the time.

[Booney]

Ugh, I hate it when people say 'aluminum'.

Right on sister, I hate that one also .. Along with 'Nucular', and eve "Tunafish" ,, Surely everyone knows Tuna is a damn fish?

Whilst we're on the topic of wanting to know something, I watched a movie last night where an adult character couldn't swim .. Does anyone know an adult that actually can't swim (not even a little bit)?

Its nucular......Nu-cu-lar.

[fisho mcspaz]

Yeah, I had most of those growing up as well! I was quite unco as a little kid so I got a lot of cuts and bruises - we had to change dentists because the surgery thought my parents were beating me up - but I had the BEST time. We had a gum tree out the front and when I was six I got a rope out of Dad's shed and made my own swing to hang on it. Dad was horrified and promptly bought a swing set for the back yard and threatened me with all sorts of things if I ever took anything out of his shed again - but as soon as his back was turned I went and put my rope swing up again. The only other thing I can remember being banned from was climbing on the roof - the gutter around the side of the house was very close to the fence, so you could climb up the fence and then scramble across the gap on to the roof. It was cool fun but a bit dangerous - again, I was about six when I first learnt how to do it, and I frightened the hell out of my parents when they caught me at it. Fortunately Dad would quite often leave me at home by myself so I could climb on the roof then - and I could also see his car coming up the street so I knew when to get down.

I wasn't allowed to get a bike licence because three of my father's best mates died in motorcycle accidents, but now I'm a bit scared of riding one anyway.

[Iron Fist]

I had all those things, bikes, roller blades, scotter, skate boards,
we live near a paddock and me and all the other kids would make hideouts and stuff in all the tree's and fight all the kids on the other side of the paddock. would collect up sand bombs, make sling shots (use my dads leather he had for wallets to make the pouch). Would go off to pelican and ride our bikes in the clay pans and do all the motor bike jumps on our pushies.
Think the worst that happened to me was I fell out a tree and cut my back up pretty bad. Still got the scar from it!
I dont think i would know how to do half the stuff I do now if we werent allowed to play around with things we probs shouldnt have been allowed to and go off and have fun!!