A Plea to our Educator leaders
I have another take on the PISA results that “seem” to demonstrate that all is NOT for the best in the best of all possible worlds (to quote Voltaire)! One of the reasons Canada (and many of its provinces) do well on PISA tests is because it compensates –by and large– by focusing on literacy more than other countries (that have better phonemic languages), IF taxpayers are willing to pay for that kind of extra-ordinary service, IF teachers are able to put more time and sacrifice their family life to compensate, IF parents are able to pay for tutors to compensate, IF students are willing to put up with the nonsense that the English spelling system is! And, then there are those who won’t be able to read this and won’t be able to write! We put on them a label! “YOU are disabled!” Really? Isn’t the language the one that is disabled? Disabling? With tens of thousands of misspelled words? Kids are disabled? Kids cannot read? Kids cannot write? WHAT? WHEN will our educational leaders stand up and ask for some accountability on how the spelling system –the system which underpins all learning, really– is and demand that it be reset, regularized to follow –at the very least– its spelling rules, so that English phonemicity can move from being the WORST to the BEST of all Western languages! The Finnish success can be attributed –by and large– to the ease by which its language is acquired, making learning to read a logical and efficient experience, not an exercise in rote memorization of ideographs that so many educators purport to despise, that rob kids of their self-esteem, that steal years of learning from so many or steal real money from so many who struggle to make ends meet! Speaking of which, I invite readers to read a thorough explanation of all the above assertions, all evidence-based and all reference-based at http://regularizingenglishspelling.wordpress.com/ . YES! Change is possible, but it is NOT easy! Is the status KO OK?
(In response to http://cultureofyes.ca/2012/11/27/a-national-conversation/#comment-3727)
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Spelling fascists or spelling anarchists?
"Spelling fascists" (the ones who correct or ridicule people who make spelling errors) are in fact (if one really think about it long enough) "spelling anarchists", who are making all the spelling errors, continually destroying English and forcing others to disrespect the 91 spelling rules of English like them! Ironic, isn't it? Why are they not respecting those 91 spelling rules? Email them this post!
Yes! You read well! "Spelling anarchists" (SA) not only misspell when they ask others to "spell right", but they want everyone else to do so too * ! Isn't ironic that the "spelling fascists" are in fact "spelling anarchists"! They are the ones forcing everyone to break down the system, to misspell words all the time, spoiling an otherwise beautiful language? Why is there a concerted effort by the prescrivists to be and act as "descrivists", as anarchists, because kids and learners --and people in general-- across the Commonwealth are wasting their time and money being sold a defective good: the English spelling system? After all, it is not exactly breaking news that English spelling has the worst phonemicity of all Western languages, retarding kids (literally) --disabling and labelling them as such-- and retarding learning by 3 years on average! It is the language that is disabled ... and disabling! Not the kids! No wonder "those young people" don't know anything because they know that the English spelling system is amiss, a mess, a monstrosity. No wonder they appear rebellious or lost at an early age while the "spelling police", AKA as the SA exert their might on them. WOW! The anarchists and the police in bed with each other. Who would have ever thought that this could be possible? Young learners want to conform. They also want the anarcho-police to conform to the rules too! While English has a relatively easy grammar, its spelling needs to be regularized and regulated. Anyone arguing the opposite is the anarchist! To that end, a Commonwealth committee or academy should be formed at once to make all the de facto "spelling anarchists" happy!
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_words_not_widely_used_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_words_having_different_meanings_in_American_and_British_English
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