amo_mea_filiis. Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 How do you fix a teen's grammar and spelling? This is getting on my nerves more than it should, but in my defense, dd's school doesn't give a hoot about spelling and grammar so I'm alone in teaching. She got an A on a paper that I would have ripped up for being illegible, and covered in errors that she's more than capable of correcting (it's not traumatic! She's actually very proud of the second paper she hands me because she takes her time). Dd knows how to use your and you're, but does not EVER use them properly when texting. If she used ur, it would bother me less! How would you work on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I just wouldn't reply unless it was grammatically correct. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 So she already knows how to write and spell correctly, but just doesn't care? Is she going to college? She'll need legible handwriting, correct grammar and spelling. I can't imagine a college instructor forgiving errors like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 I absolutely do not reply when she texts... "can i have internet on mine bwcause i wanna watch markiplier not toby games(ive seen the episodes hes now woating)" or "or mabey high c" Her lack of spacing with parenthesis is another one! I've considered taking her iPod for 24 hours for each infraction (not for things like "bwcause" because that's just a finger slip typo), and making her hand write someone a letter. I may do some English language unit with her. Why do kids (and people in general, it seems) accept "lessons learned" by youtube comments, or poorly written role play boards, but not by well written books or grammar instruction books? Argh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 So she already knows how to write and spell correctly, but just doesn't care? Is she going to college? She'll need legible handwriting, correct grammar and spelling. I can't imagine a college instructor forgiving errors like that.She can, yes, but it's not automatic. Her spelling is atrocious, but when she stops and thinks, she can do better. She's in 7th grade, and I'm not sure what her college thoughts are. However, when I bring up "it'll matter when..." points, she just says she'll do it at that time. I think I'm more annoyed at the school not caring than I am with her. It does bother me that she also doesn't care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Dd knows how to use your and you're, but does not EVER use them properly when texting. When my dd sends me texts filled with text-speak and bad grammar, I send them back corrected but don't otherwise respond. My dd also gets high grades on papers (even in college) that I think are poorly written. I honestly think standards are just lower these days. But then again, I routinely wrote my research papers and essays the night before they were due and got A's, so maybe standards were already lower then. I did go on to become a published writer and an editor, so I like to think that I write well. Were I you, I would require that your teen revise her paper for you before she turned it in. That way there would be no high grades on illegible papers to begin with. Also, I once returned one of my dd's papers to her teacher with a page printed off from the MLA style guide to illustrate why the paper's pervasive errors should have netted a lower grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I've considered taking her iPod for 24 hours for each infraction (not for things like "bwcause" because that's just a finger slip typo), and making her hand write someone a letter. I wouldn't do that. Do you really want to have to be that nitpicky and micromanagey? Aside from failing to respond to stupid texts, I wouldn't bother with the texts. Focus on the academic work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 She does almost all academic work during school and study halls, so I don't see these papers until they're finished and graded. I will require that she shows me her work. This was the way it worked until she got her report card and insisted she could keep it up alone. She's correct, but the quality of her work is very far from A's and B's IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I see them as two totally different forms. I make mistakes in text. And part of the purpose is to go quickly. I wouldn't be bothered by that as long as I could understand. The papers on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I wouldn't worry about the texts at all! Texting has it's own set of conventions. As for the papers, I honestly would recommend the same. I see no difference between the scenario you describe and one where the parents complain that their son/daughter deserved a higher grade on a paper. The teacher is the authority in the classroom and, in my opinion, I think you owe her the decency of respecting the way that she chooses to grade your daughter's papers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 The teacher is the authority in the classroom and, in my opinion, I think you owe her the decency of respecting the way that she chooses to grade your daughter's papers. I don't agree with this. My dd had a 10th or 11th grade language arts teacher whose grammar was horrendous. The kids had to have a peer and a teacher edit each paper they wrote, and the teacher's edits were embarrassing! She would change correct things and make them incorrect! I certainly wasn't going to respect that. What's the point of a teacher teaching your kid to do something wrong or poorly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 I don't mind much of the texting language. However, if you're going to write out your/you're, it should be the right one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I do nothing about dds texting weirdness. It doesn't bother me at all. She never uses that writing in academic writing assignments (or on any school assignments), though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 texts....I don't care. papers... I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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