The AP notes:
Thank God only four people found it necessary to protest a spelling bee, but their reason for doing so makes little to no sense. The article says "Roberta Mahoney, 81, a former Fairfax County, Va. elementary school principal, said the current language obstructs 40 percent of the population from learning how to read, write and spell." Really? So because 40 percent of the population is having trouble learning the words that people have been learning and using for hundreds and hundreds of years, it's the fault of the words? Maybe it's an issue with the way our education system is set up, the fact that fewer and fewer parents read to their kids early on and that kids prefer to read and write in text/IM lingo instead of reading long-form prose.
These are the words put to perfect use by Shakespeare, Joyce, Thoreau and Twain. They didn't seem to have problems with them. Maybe, just maybe, the words aren't the problem.
Four peaceful protesters, some dressed in full-length black and yellow bee costumes, represented the American Literacy Council and the London-based Spelling Society and stood outside the Grand Hyatt on Thursday, where the Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held. Their message was short: Simplify the way we spell words.
Thank God only four people found it necessary to protest a spelling bee, but their reason for doing so makes little to no sense. The article says "Roberta Mahoney, 81, a former Fairfax County, Va. elementary school principal, said the current language obstructs 40 percent of the population from learning how to read, write and spell." Really? So because 40 percent of the population is having trouble learning the words that people have been learning and using for hundreds and hundreds of years, it's the fault of the words? Maybe it's an issue with the way our education system is set up, the fact that fewer and fewer parents read to their kids early on and that kids prefer to read and write in text/IM lingo instead of reading long-form prose.
These are the words put to perfect use by Shakespeare, Joyce, Thoreau and Twain. They didn't seem to have problems with them. Maybe, just maybe, the words aren't the problem.
4 comments:
The Tea party movement flexing its muscles...
Haha. Starting small and working their way up?
English words have too many syllables. That's the problem. Real Americans only need two to git er done.
"Syllables"?! Easy there, egghead. Don't you mean "word bits"?
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