"It really doesn't matter, does it?"

[radiobrain]

When I am writing a post, even with a board full of grammar and punctuation geeks, I don't care too much. What I am attempting to convey is more important at the time.

 

If I have to write an email to someone important, or I am doing something related to the board I am on (which has to do with gifted education), I NEVER send it until after I have triple checked it. Even a silly, little, "hello, I need to make sure the computers will be working" sort of email.

 

If it is for publication... oh my goodness. I have panic attacks.

 

On FB, i enjoy leaving out any end punctuation

 

I didn't speak Italian in Italy, even though I could, because I couldn't stand the thought of not being able to exrpess myself EXACTLY as I would in English. I did not want to sound like my MIL in reverse.

 

TMI, I know.

 

oh well

 

Yes, it does matter, and when you can do it, it stands out like a bright and shiny jewel. As apposed to the converse....

[myfatherslily]

We all have strengths and weaknesses. My dad can't spell basic words, but his math skills are awesome. English comes naturally to me, but I need to double- and triple-check all my mathematical computations:)

 

However, I do agree that is does matter. For many, simply checking their work would decrease errors. Or maybe right-clicking on all the red squiggly lines;)

[Hockey Mom]

Didn't read all of the replies.

 

One year, as I attended DD's 5th grade awards program, the principal got up to speak to the parents. Her exact words were, "We believe that all children's is winners at _________ Academy." Dh and I looked at each other in shock. This woman held a PhD in Education.

 

Grammar matters. <<--- We should have t-shirts made. :tongue_smilie:

[kalanamak]

 

Thanks

Athletic Office

 

 

When I was kid, my dad watched college sports. He used to look at the coach as the after-game interview began and say "Is he going to say they done real well or real good?" He was almost never wrong on one or the other.

[angela in ohio]

Dh and I looked at each other in shock. This woman held a PhD in Education.

 

The majority of the other students in dh's grad classes in education cannot put together a gramatically correct sentence. Whenever he has a group project, he always volunteers to assemble the final product, so that I can edit it all first. (Dh likes to keep his A average. :D) It made me bang my head against the wall for the future of education for a while, but now I'm used to it. :glare:

 

The original letter was probably from the secretary in the Athletic Office. Dh tries really hard to hire secretaries who will represent their district well, but it is hard! There is a typing test, but no spelling or grammar test. He is interviewing this week for a new secretary, and I told him he should hand them a sheet of paper during the interview and ask them to write a memo for hiim on the spot. :001_smile:

 

I've shared here before that it is common in this area for people to say "he/she/it don't." We toured the local newspaper, and the editor said it! That gave me pause.

Edited March 2, 2011 by angela in ohio

[MrsMe]

There's absolutely no work ethic anymore. They think they can hit spell check and be okay. They don't care about grammar. We spell checked, edited and had another person edit newsletters and the like. I made sure my emails were proofread. I don't think anyone knows what that means anymore.

 

I once applied for a position at the national cable company for Administrative Assistant to the General Manager. I got the job. I was floored, because I didn't try hard, because I thought I was a needle in the haystack. They said I had one of the only resumes that wasn't consumed in error and was the only one who could right a letter. Part of the position was to help out Human Resources with their hiring by weeding out resumes that didn't apply. I have to say they were right. I couldn't believe what came through, and it's only gotten worse.

 

My dh has his own business as well and he forwards all the ridiculous emails he gets. Many are unreadable and need clarification. And these people still have jobs! What kills me is businesses don't seem to care! I don't care if it's their job or not, they represent the business and I personally wouldn't stand for looking like an idiot.

[KristinaBreece]

There's absolutely no work ethic anymore. They think they can hit spell check and be okay. They don't care about grammar. We spell checked, edited and had another person edit newsletters and the like. I made sure my emails were proofread. I don't think anyone knows what that means anymore.

 

I once applied for a position at the national cable company for Administrative Assistant to the General Manager. I got the job. I was floored, because I didn't try hard, because I thought I was a needle in the haystack. They said I had one of the only resumes that wasn't consumed in error and was the only one who could right a letter. Part of the position was to help out Human Resources with their hiring by weeding out resumes that didn't apply. I have to say they were right. I couldn't believe what came through, and it's only gotten worse.

 

My dh has his own business as well and he forwards all the ridiculous emails he gets. Many are unreadable and need clarification. And these people still have jobs! What kills me is businesses don't seem to care! I don't care if it's their job or not, they represent the business and I personally wouldn't stand for looking like an idiot.

 

What kills me is the fact that I can't get an administrative job to save my life. There is no good place on a job application to advertise my mad spelling and grammar skills.

[MrsMe]

What kills me is the fact that I can't get an administrative job to save my life. There is no good place on a job application to advertise my mad spelling and grammar skills.

 

 

You my dear, are over-qualified. They told me they almost didn't hire me because I was over-qualified. No kidding.

[TexasRachel]

I firmly believe that the reason DH got his promotion is because of his writing skills and everyone else's lack thereof. He has a lot of "good" responsibilities because of his writing skills. And while he does have skill, I think a lot of it is just his ability to be grammatically correct. It matters a lot.

[unsinkable]

Why would you say that?

 

It doesn't take any time at all to notice egregious grammatical or spelling errors. When those errors pour forth from an educational institution, it takes even less time to mark the irony.

 

I remember when a person could not obtain an administrative or secretarial position anywhere without basic English skills. It really wasn't very long ago.

 

Thank YOU!!!

 

On a hockey message board someone wrote:

 

Congrats on the team's playoff birth.

 

My response was: LOL, better change that to berth so no one starts a rumor about what happened at the game!

 

At least 5 responses were "You've got too much time on your hands."

 

Whatever. It takes a split second to spot a word that is spelled wrong and a few more seconds to correct it.

 

And I wasn't trying to be the high & mighty spelling police. I was trying to make a joke b/c I thought it was such a funny thought...a hockey player giving birth at the playoffs. :lol: Still makes me giggle.

[melissel]

I once applied for a position at the national cable company for Administrative Assistant to the General Manager. I got the job. I was floored, because I didn't try hard, because I thought I was a needle in the haystack. They said I had one of the only resumes that wasn't consumed in error and was the only one who could right a letter. Part of the position was to help out Human Resources with their hiring by weeding out resumes that didn't apply. I have to say they were right. I couldn't believe what came through, and it's only gotten worse.

 

When I was just out of college and looking for jobs in publishing in New York, I went to one placement agency that had all applicants take a very basic spelling/grammar/punctuation test. When I was done and sitting in the crowded waiting area to be called, the agent came out and accused me of cheating somehow because I'd done so well on the test (I'd gotten all the answers right). It was incredibly basic! I was floored to be accused of cheating on something so simple. In retrospect, I can see why. That was a lovely moment for me, and I'm sure it was nice for the other applicants sitting there as well :glare:

 

Years later, I was on a team that was processing resumes to replace a fellow editor. You would not believe the things we saw. The letters and resumes weren't horrendous generally (though there were some laughable ones), but we had people take a fairly simple editing test. It took us MONTHS to replace someone each time we had to do so. My colleague was always saying, "But they can take the test HOME with them! How can they do so poorly on a take-home test?!" It was mind boggling.

[unsinkable]

Sometimes people who are not even idiots make mistakes/typos that spell check won't catch.

 

Right? Right!

 

:lol:

Edited March 2, 2011 by unsinkable

[MrsMe]

Sometimes people who are not even idiots make mistakes/typos that spell check won't catch.

 

Right? Right!

 

:lol:

 

LOL...If I'm going to look like an idiot, I'll do it myself. I don't need others to do it for me and put my name on it. :tongue_smilie:

[unsinkable]

LOL...If I'm going to look like an idiot, I'll do it myself. I don't need others to do it for me and put my name on it. :tongue_smilie:

 

I am teasing you a bit, alilac, b/c a typo in your post jumped out at me. It is something that can easily be overlooked by the writer and won't be caught w/ spellcheck.

 

Sometimes I am typing so fast (for me :tongue_smilie:) that I don't notice when I make errors like that myself.

[MrsMe]

I am teasing you a bit, alilac, b/c a typo in your post jumped out at me. It is something that can easily be overlooked by the writer and won't be caught w/ spellcheck.

 

Sometimes I am typing so fast (for me :tongue_smilie:) that I don't notice when I make errors like that myself.

 

Right! I know. :tongue_smilie:

But I can't fix it, because you quoted it.

Good thing I haven't worked in years. But my proofreader would have found it.:lol: And I wouldn't have paid another person to make me look bad. Heehee.

[unsinkable]

Right! I know. :tongue_smilie:

But I can't fix it, because you quoted it.

Good thing I haven't worked in years. But my proofreader would have found it.:lol: And I wouldn't have paid another person to make me look bad. Heehee.

 

;) Check my post again. :D

 

Not that it matters.

[MrsMe]

;) Check my post again. :D

 

Not that it matters.

 

Nah. I'll quit while I'm not ahead. And none of it counts anyway. I'm not working.:tongue_smilie: And there are several.

Edited March 2, 2011 by alilac

[Deb in NZ]

Yes, it matters.

 

Everyone (sender and receiver) benefits when thoughts are communicated clearly. This means properly using the tools of punctuation and correct spelling.

 

Are there times when it doesn't matter? Sure. I don't care if friends capitalize on their facebook statuses, for instance. But in professional communications, such as the notice from the Athletic Department? Yes, it matters.

 

~ Linda (who is a self-confessed grammar snob)

 

:iagree:

[Laurie4b]

There are different kinds of public writing. If I'm writing on this forum, I don't obsess over whether I may have made a small mistake; otherwise, it would take too much time proofing, etc. to post. IMO, it's the difference between a conversation with a friend (a forum) and a speech. I'll spend time crafting my speech, but with a friend, I just share thoughts and feel free not to be eloquent.

 

If I am writing for work, I work hard to make sure my email communications that go out to a large group are well-written. What catches me up most often, though, is when I've been editing with cutting and pasting. Sometimes, a word gets left dangling from the first pass! Argh! What's hard is that emails often have to go out pretty quickly; certainly within a timeframe in which when editing, it's easy to read what you intended to be there, rather than what's actually there. (At least for me, a period of time between writing and editing makes a lot of difference in terms of being able to catch my own errors.)

 

There is a difference between an error or two that are part of the speed of emails, though, and what you received from your school. To have an email full of grammatical and punctuation errors from a school is pretty bad. I would hope that the employee that sent that gets a talking to from the principal. It truly does reflect on the school's ability to educate, even though it wasn't written by an English teacher.