HSing parents using poor grammar

[Pretty in Pink]

does this drive you nuts? i know HSing moms who do not know the difference between there/their/they're, your/you're, who's/whose, etc. hat about those who misspell common words like congratulations (i'm thinking of a gal who spells it CONGRADULATIONS), organizer (ORGANIZOR), refrigerator (REGRIDGERATOR), etc. what about those who use the word ain't?

 

i must confess that these all drive me crazy! please tell me i'm not alone...:001_huh:

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I guess we all have our faults. I've had to go back and edit many times because I almost let a few kitties die. (a nod to Mrs. Mungo)

 

Someone else may be irritated when hsing moms don't use capital letters. :D

[Perry]

I'm sure we all have our pet peeves. I'm sure some people are bugged by not capitalizing the word "I", or the first word in a sentence, for instance. I try not to be judgmental, because I know I make plenty of mistakes.

[abbeyej]

Well, I tend to forgive a lot on message boards. I never say "ain't" (unless maybe I'm being goofy), but sometimes I'm playing around on a message board and indicating my silliness by use of slang.

 

There are spelling issues that are personal pet peeves (for instance, when people write all sorts of crazy things in lieu of "voila!"), but I know perfectly well that I make both typos (frequently!) and spelling errors from time to time in bulletin board posts. I don't proof read here. I consider this more like a casual conversation than like a business email, where I would be more conscious of both standard English usage and double-checking for spelling and typing errors.

 

And as someone else pointed out, the irony is rich when you choose to complain about these things while eschewing basic rules of capitalization. Shall we assume that you simply don't know how to use them and are an unfit home schooling mother? Or shall we be given to understand that you saw this as an informal conversation where capitals could be used for emphasis rather than grammar?

[Mrs Mungo]

I guess we all have our faults. I've had to go back and edit many times because I almost let a few kitties die. (a nod to Mrs. Mungo)

 

Someone else may be irritated when hsing moms don't use capital letters. :D

 

:D

 

I certainly am not perfect when it comes to my use of grammar here. I also see it more as casual conversation. I definitely think faster than I type, even when I'm typing fast and furious. I use the edit button a LOT because I often see typos as soon as my post goes up.

[Holly IN]

How about a homeschooling parent who is the secretary of our church who uses poor grammar in the church's bulletin on Sunday? So embarrassing!!! Especially when everybody knows I homeschool too!:glare: However sometimes I use poor grammar here on these boards...I try to make sure I use proper grammar as much as possible. However when it is every Sunday, the bulletin is filled with obvious grammar, it really grates my nerves.

 

Holly

Edited September 29, 2008 by Holly IN

[Pretty in Pink]

LOL, okay, you gals have got me on the capitalization :tongue_smilie: as you said, here on these boards the tone is quite informal.

 

i suppose on the flip side i had several high school teachers who also made this mistakes frequently and it bugged me then as well. i remember one instructor who offered to give me 100% on every test, all year long, if i agreed to proofread the tests ahead of time and correct his grammar/spelling/punctuation.

[Laurel]

Poor grammar in general drives me crazy, but it doesn't bother me in homeschoolers any more than it does in the general population as a whole. I will say that I have luckily grown out of that really annoying phase of needing to correct everyone else's poor grammer, which I did as a kid all. the. time.

 

And no capitalizations and run-on sentences and really long paragraphs bother me as well, as they are difficult to read. That's actually one of the reasons why I like this message board so much, because it doesn't give me a headache to read.

[Laurel]

i suppose on the flip side i had several high school teachers who also made this mistakes frequently and it bugged me then as well. i remember one instructor who offered to give me 100% on every test, all year long, if i agreed to proofread the tests ahead of time and correct his grammar/spelling/punctuation.

 

LOL, I remember several teachers whose grammar and/or spelling I corrected, starting at a very young age. (I promise, I really did outgrow that habit, really.)

 

I do cringe when I hear poor grammar (can't help it), but I think my biggest pet peeve is businesses with misspellings, etc. on their signs. Shouldn't they have proofreaders?

[Kathleen in VA]

It doesn't bother me on message boards or emails because I realize that folks are typing their thoughts quickly and often don't have time to go back and proofread. I do think, though, that for something that is published, such as a church newsletter or blog that is open to public viewing, more care should be exercised. The fact is, there are many in the non-homeschooling world who would love to have something for which to fault homeschoolers. The easiest fault to find is poor language skills since these are the most used, and therefore the most apparent. If grandma, who is opposed to homeschooling, receives a thank-you note filled with poor spelling, grammar and handwriting, she will not care if her grandchild can outline the history of Western Civilization or be able to accurately describe the structure of the solar system. Nonsensical, to be sure, but definitely something to contend with.

 

When people read items with poor grammar and spelling their natural response is to consider the author uneducated and ignorant. Since this fact is not in our power to change, I think we, as homeschoolers, must be careful if we hope to gain and retain credibility in the "outside" world. Like Avis, we must try harder.:) As homeschooling parents, we must make an extra effort to use proper grammar and correct spelling. I've read many posts here from moms who felt their own education lacked, especially in regard to history and literature. They talk of the reading they must do to get up to speed. I think it would be wise, if those moms who have a weakness in grammar and/or spelling, take just as much time to get up to speed in these areas as well. It may even be more important since language is the conduit through which we express our ideas about all other disciplines.

 

If we expect to be able to teach our own children well, have other adults take us seriously and not provide them fuel with which to criticize our choice to homeschool, we should be willing to devote as much time and resources as necessary to mastering our grammar and spelling skills.

[mazakaal]

Dh drives me crazy when he uses 'good' when he should use 'well'. I don't really notice it in other homeschooling parents. One thing that cracked me up recently was a sign on a B&B that is under new ownership and undergoing renovations. There's a big sign on the side of the building that says 'New Name of B&B, formally Caertref'. Formally!!!! I just want to sneek over in the middle of the night and paint an 'er' over the 'a'.

[tibbyl]

Yes, it is dismaying when it is obvious that it is not an isolated incident. But with homeschooling, they ultimately will have the opportunity to engage in a thorough grammar review. I'd hate to be judged by my worst subject.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Whenever I make a mistake in grammar, math or basic knowledge in history or science, I laugh and tell the person "Yeah, and I teach my kids that subject!" They know that I'm human and they laugh. I do however, expect more on a published or formal (and so therefore supposedly proof-read) communication. Our school district sent me a letter when I sent my first "letter of intent" to homeschool outlining the state's rules and urging me to reconsider. It was formal communication from a school district but it was full of typos and grammatical mistakes. I took out my red pen, corrected it and sent it back to them! (Their more recent letters do not have mistakes).

[Tap]

I am horrible at both grammar and spelling. I hope no one thinks that I am inept at homeschooling my children simply because of it. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We can't all be great at everything. I made sure to get my son a good writing coach and he did a lot of grammar practice so I didn't pass my poor skills along.

 

 

I also don't think that it has anything to do with whether or not you home school. People of all walks of life struggle with some subjects in school. I know teachers who can't do math, and I know teachers who are poor spellers. If teachers had to be great at everything, there would be no teachers.

[goodgollycr]

i know HSing moms who do not know the difference between there/their/they're, your/you're, who's/whose, etc

 

It does drive me crazy...but you know...I have caught myself doing it...and I DO know the difference!

 

Now, not using capitals, I am often guilty of that. :glare:

 

My dd and I joke often when one of us makes a silly mistake...'Don't tell anyone you're homeschooled.' :D

 

 

:lurk5: (popcorn smiley at the request of dsos) ;)

[Jill- OK]

I am horrible at both grammar and spelling. I hope no one thinks that I am inept at homeschooling my children simply because of it. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. We can't all be great at everything. I made sure to get my son a good writing coach and he did a lot of grammar practice so I didn't pass my poor skills along.

 

 

I also don't think that it has anything to do with whether or not you home school. People of all walks of life struggle with some subjects in school. I know teachers who can't do math, and I know teachers who are poor spellers. If teachers had to be great at everything, there would be no teachers.

 

I'm with you. :001_smile:

 

I learned a lot of grammar along with my older kids, since I don't remember studying it formally during the time I went to school.

[Sharon H in IL]

Yup. It bugs me. I want to get out my teacher's pince nez and give a lesson on how to form plurals, the difference between adjectives and adverbs, and how homonyms must be carefully watched or they try to jump into one another's territory.

 

You're reading along merrily, enjoying the post, then the misspelled word or grammatical error yanks you back like a puppy who has reached the end of his leash. Mistakes happen, but in electronic communication, we're dropping our standards -- fast and far.

 

I had to stop reading a homeschool board because the grammar and spelling were driving me nuts, and the content wasn't worth wading through it all.

 

Around here, the content's so good I'd wade through floodwaters of spelling errors to get the great ideas. But really, it's not necessary. Compared to the rest of the internet, this place is nirvana. :lol:

[dawn of ns]

Doesn't bother me too much, at leas tin environments like this. Heck, I often mix up their/there/they're and your/you're because of some brain fart even though I know the difference.

 

It does bug me in real life though. My daughter went to a Brownie troop where the leaders had a very weak grasp of writing. I remember one notice that I puzzled over forever because if their punctuation was right, the meaning of that notice was outlandish.

[camibami]

It doesn't bug me. I do it, mostly typos, but still- I do it.

 

I am a fan of grammar errors and missed puncuation for effect, actually.

so.much.fun.

 

And fragments.

 

And the elipse...

 

And fun spelling like "homeskoolin".

 

So, I'm not gonna complain!

[swellmomma]

Grammar doesn't completely drive me insane. ANd I have been known to make spelling errors, usually as typos but occasionally as actual errors (I was one that recently spelled refrigerator with d in it, I had written fridge but thought I would be a smarty and expand it only to forget to take out the d, didn't look very smart after that ;) ). But there is one homeschooling mom that is on my local homeschool email list. She also organizes the homeschool meetup group for our city, very nice lady but reading her emails, is like trying to read the writing of a 1st grade english as a second language student. The spelling is so hard that I sometimes have trouble deciphering what she is trying to say to us. It makes me wonder how on earth she teaches her children spelling and grammar when her's is so bad you can not figure out what the word was supposed to be.

[mims]

How about our local Dairy Queen that spelled 'Arctic' as 'Artic' and another misspelling on the same sign? It was up for a month right across the street from our public grade school. It drove me crazy every time I drove by. I told my husband the employees were obviously graduates of the local school. I think words spelled wrong on public signs is my greatest pet peeve! (That and people spelling etc. as ect. I'm not sure why that one bugs me so much, but it does!)

[fivetails]

It doesn't bother me on a board - heck, I type like I speak so my posts often have things like "gonna" or "ain't" scattered through 'em. If I'm not careful, a "yous" sometimes even sneaks in because everyone says it here. :tongue_smilie:

 

("Prolly" for probably is another bad habit - along with overusing hyphens and those dots...ellipsis....ellipsi?? How do you plural that? :lol: )

 

Sure, something that's written for publication (or any kind of formal thing) ought to be checked over for stuff like that - but this sort of environment is much more like a bunch of people sitting around Tims yapping. :)

[8filltheheart]

If it is in this type of environment, it doesn't bother me b/c I assume that they are multi-tasking (talking, watching the news (that's me!), have kids climbing on them (me, too!), and otherwise distracted.

 

If it is something that is occurring in a more formal, should be edited, scenerio, those things bug me regardless. A realtor handed my a flyer that described a "beautiful peace of land," blech!

 

But, I also have been blessed and humbled by 2 attrocious spellers as children. Extremely intelligent math/science oriented boys that spell pathetically. It does NOT reflect on their education or intelligence, simply their inability to spell!

[Slartibartfast]

I just figure everyone is nakking and has baby feet on the keyboard. :)

[Jennifer in NH]

Poor grammar in general drives me crazy, but it doesn't bother me in homeschoolers any more than it does in the general population as a whole. I will say that I have luckily grown out of that really annoying phase of needing to correct everyone else's poor grammer, which I did as a kid all. the. time.

 

:iagree: I am not usually around too many people that use improper grammer. When I am, it drives me crazy...double negatives are the worst!

as far as correcting others go...I used to do that all the time...I'm really suprised my husband actually married me. I used to do it to him all the time! I'm not sure which came first..his grammer getting better, or my realization that correcting people was/is annoying!:001_smile:

[Kay in Cal]

Obvious misspellings on a message board don't bug me in general (or else I'd be in real trouble)... but in business or professional life they do.

 

My personal linguistic pet peeve is when people use similar, but incorrect, words in writing: wreak/wreck/reek for example.

 

I once received a note from someone asking to use a "Candle opera". It took me a while to figure out she meant a candelabra. But that wasn't a homeschooler!

[Lizzie in Ma]

I saw a t-shirt I want for Christmas. It says, " I am the Grammarian your mother warned you about"

:D

[Guest janainaz]

I don't really care. I'm more interested in WHAT is being said, not how it's spelled or the grammar that is used. Teaching my kids is a different story.

[jejily]

I do cringe a little bit, (well, maybe more than a little bit), when I see obviously poor grammar (not typos) in an email or message board for hsing moms. I'm not talking about forums, like this, which have a quick pace of back-and-forth communication... I'm talking about places where homeschool moms (or dads) are posting messages that they have plenty of time to think about and write before posting.

 

I often see poor grammar in posts at a particular Yahoo group I'm in for homeschoolers using a certain curriculum. This is a group that generates maybe four to eight posts TOTAL per day, from all its users combined. There's no reason for any rapid-fire messages that can't at least be spell checked before they're sent off.

 

Again, though, it's not TYPOS that bother me; we all do that. I know the difference between their/they're/there and your/you're and still mess those up occasionally when I'm writing in a hurry. But, poor grammar ... when it's regularly displayed by the same person, and that person is a homeschool mom ... yeah, it bugs me.

 

Guess I'm a grammar snob. :blush:

[Pretty in Pink]

i *need* that tshirt (t shirt...tee shirt...T Shirt...gah) :lol:

[Tracey in TX]

Basic English grammar should be a prerequisite for being an adult! I am slightly neurotic when it comes to grammar, spelling and pronunciation. Typos are no big deal, IMO. I used to correct my parents and teachers with the inevitable error. Subject-verb agreement, correct homophone spelling, and the elimination of "ain't" are critical to be taken seriously in speech. (Anyone remember Rush Limbaugh promoting this for a lucrative speech/vocab program?)

We really our judged on our speech and how we convey our thoughts.

[gardening momma]

i must confess that these all drive me crazy! please tell me i'm not alone...:001_huh:

I dont no whut u mene. :-)

[Lovedtodeath]

Well.... I am the product of Public School. I was smarter than the teachers in English class and would often catch their mistakes. However, that was 16 years ago and the bar for grammar is much higher when you are educating TWTM way. I am learning with my daughter, and she is in first grade. So I would hope that if my grammar is not appropriate someone would cut me some slack.:chillpill:

 

In addition, I find that I often misspell things because I am in a hurry and/or I have a baby on my lap nursing and I am typing with one hand while DD is trying to get my attention all at the same time. So my spelling and grammar will not be my best on these boards.:glare:

 

All that said and it still irks me if I see an obvious misspelling show up again and again. I wonder if I should PM the person to point it out.:tongue_smilie:Oh, and I have someone in my life that says "we was" and mixes up good and well. Drives. Me. Insane.:lol:

Edited September 30, 2008 by Lovedtodeath

[Lovedtodeath]

I just figure everyone is nakking and has baby feet on the keyboard. :)

 

Exactly. :grouphug: nakking! I have never seen it put that way before. So cute!:)

[Nestof3]

First, let me say: I do think forums have a relaxed atmosphere where incomplete sentences and slang are allowed.

 

AND

 

I see and make typos often.

 

BUT

 

I do see grammar or spelling errors that really don't seem like they are typos. For example:

 

A sentence starting with "Me and Paul . . ."

 

"Grammer" instead of "grammar."

 

I admit that I detect so many errors in some posts (things that just don't seem like typos), that I have to wonder.

[Alphabetika]

Well, sometimes it does, but then I have to remember that there are LOTS of things I can't do proficiently. I can't sew a seam, I don't remember much math beyond the VERY basic, I can't change a tire, and I can't stay in the kitchen when someone is popping the top off a Pillsbury biscuit can. We're all still learning. :tongue_smilie:

[kalanamak]

 

i must confess that these all drive me crazy! please tell me i'm not alone...:001_huh:

 

Yes,sir, and right there behind teachers who use bad grammar. I just writhe. "No Sweetie, is isn't "real good", its "real well"."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!:confused::smash:

[lovemyboys]

LOL, I remember several teachers whose grammar and/or spelling I corrected, starting at a very young age. (I promise, I really did outgrow that habit, really.)

 

I do cringe when I hear poor grammar (can't help it), but I think my biggest pet peeve is businesses with misspellings, etc. on their signs. Shouldn't they have proofreaders?

 

We were in a classroom recently that had words on the whiteboard. I was more than tempted to go correct the spelling. ;)

 

One of our regional yahoo groups will remind anyone contacting someone in an official capacity to please be careful about spelling, grammar, syntax. And in those cases, I agree -- the church bulletin when everyone knows the person homeschools, it just doesn't look good for homeschoolers in general.

[Peela]

I notice it (and comment on it if it's appropriate, or a friend) but it doesn't bug me so much nowadays. Its one thing to have a good education, but another to judge others for lack of skill when they simply weren't taught well. We are just lucky if we can spell and use grammar close to correctly most of the time- its a blessing- but millions in the world can't even read and write.

I have mixed feelings about adults with poor English/grammar/ spelling skills homeschooling their kids. Often they are from lower socioeconomic cultures. Would their kids learn correctly in school anyway? Will their kids benefit from homeschooling in other ways other than a highly academic education that has a high grammar standard? Probably, in many cases. Sure, some people shouldn't homeschool, but i am not sure that not having really good English skills should be a criteria, necessarily. Of course, how many of us have learned more grammar homeschooling our own kids than we ever learned at school.

Its all a work in progress.

[kalanamak]

I notice it (and comment on it if it's appropriate, or a friend) but it doesn't bug me so much nowadays. Its one thing to have a good education, but another to judge others for lack of skill when they simply weren't taught well. .

 

It is not a matter of judging. It is a matter of feeling like you've had needles stuck all over you. It HURTS.

 

BTW, I work with many, many people with ghastly grammar. "I don't got any" is considered upper crust. "I don't got none" is hick. I take this without a hitch, but when I teacher says "I check my email regular" I cringe. I feel we've let all standards slip, but I cling to this romantic notion of teachers.

 

(I just returned from a trip through the rural west. For breakfast this morning I heard a young woman and a cook so old she had a dowager's hump talk about the town sl*t, who just had a baby. The younger woman said that she had had a "maternity" test to prove that the speaker's baby's father was the dad, but he "failed", and then she had to have 4 other men take a "maternity" test and she still doesn't know who the dad is but "I saw a picture of the baby and it looks just like my baby, so I know Josh [the father of her baby] is the dad".

This exchange, in full volume in front of my 6 year old son was bad on so many levels I finally pulled up stakes and left. 100 miles west in another Podunkville, but a county seat, we were at a corner waiting to cross and two well dressed middle aged people were putting up corn-stalk people for decorations. The man was fussing with it. The woman, at least 50, said "you act like you want to have s*x with it." (laughter). Again, right there in front of a six year old.

I grew up in Podunkville. What has happened?)

[elegantlion]

I notice it (and comment on it if it's appropriate, or a friend) but it doesn't bug me so much nowadays. Its one thing to have a good education, but another to judge others for lack of skill when they simply weren't taught well. We are just lucky if we can spell and use grammar close to correctly most of the time- its a blessing- but millions in the world can't even read and write.

I have mixed feelings about adults with poor English/grammar/ spelling skills homeschooling their kids. Often they are from lower socioeconomic cultures. Would their kids learn correctly in school anyway? Will their kids benefit from homeschooling in other ways other than a highly academic education that has a high grammar standard? Probably, in many cases. Sure, some people shouldn't homeschool, but i am not sure that not having really good English skills should be a criteria, necessarily. Of course, how many of us have learned more grammar homeschooling our own kids than we ever learned at school.

Its all a work in progress.

 

:iagree: I remember getting into an argument with my high school English teacher. She expected to know things we had never been taught in junior high. Yes, I'm that old. She didn't bother to teach us those things, just expected us to know them.

 

My mom received her education in a rural one room schoolhouse, her grammar and spelling are bad and she knows it. I watched her get ridiculed for years over it. My nephew, bless his heart, even corrected a letter she written to him and sent it back. Through it all she smiles, forgives, and has worked to become better. Because of her experience my grace and patience for errors probably extends further than most. :D

[Ellie]

Poor grammar makes me crazy anyway.:glare:

 

But I don't think that just because someone hs that her grammar should somehow be better. Although I would think that she might see her own grammar mistakes as she teaches her dc, I have seen that this is not so. ::sigh::

 

I've also heard college-educated folks use the most awful grammar. How can that be??? I guess if you're studying science or math or whatever you're not necessarily focussing on grammar...

[emeraldjoy]

My father barely graduated from high and is borderline literate.

 

If I were not able, I would, without hesitation, allow him to educate my children. His integrity and wisdom far outweighs most of the people I know. Not only do I trust that he would teach them the most imporant aspects of living in our world (not neccesarily academic), I also trust that he would have the wisdom to seek help with the "other" neccesary parts of learning, if he needed it.

 

Although he may not be able to articulate in an "appropriate" or educated way, the man can build a house from the ground up...by.him.self. Plumbing, electricy, heating......all included.

 

He says "aint" regularly....so what.

e

[Melissa in CA]

It doesn't bug me. I do it, mostly typos, but still- I do it.

 

I am a fan of grammar errors and missed puncuation for effect, actually.

so.much.fun.

 

And fragments.

 

And the elipse...

 

And fun spelling like "homeskoolin".

 

So, I'm not gonna complain!

 

:lol: I'm right there with ya Cami.

[KidsHappen]

. . . hat about those who misspell common words like congratulations (i'm thinking of a gal who spells it CONGRADULATIONS), organizer (ORGANIZOR), refrigerator (REGRIDGERATOR), etc. what about those who use the word ain't?

 

. . . i had several high school teachers who also made this mistakes frequently

 

I am slow so I don't know if this was done for comedic effect or if these were honest mistakes. In any case, :tongue_smilie:

[KidsHappen]

I am slow so I don't know if this was done for comedic effect or if these were honest mistakes. In any case, :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Oh, I did it, my first multiple quote ever! And I figured it out all by myself. Yay, me! :)

[Peela]

It is not a matter of judging. It is a matter of feeling like you've had needles stuck all over you. It HURTS.

 

BTW, I work with many, many people with ghastly grammar. "I don't got any" is considered upper crust. "I don't got none" is hick. I take this without a hitch, but when I teacher says "I check my email regular" I cringe. I feel we've let all standards slip, but I cling to this romantic notion of teachers.

 

 

Well now that you have given some examples....the truth is, I just don't come across people with grammar that poor very often. Even the rougher people from poorer backgrounds that I meet speak better than that. Perhaps it's not so bad in Australia? Due to our small population I guess, we don't have the range of accents and dialects that the U.S. has, although there is variation. There probably are some people who speak as poorely as you have said, but I don't come across them and I mix with all sorts.

I am reading Tom Sawyer to the kids and it's really funny to us the language used in there.

Any irritation I feel is obviously minor- and I do notice when people cant spell or use correct grammar- but I think I would just feel sorry for people who spoke that badly. Incredible that teachers would!

[kalanamak]

Well now that you have given some examples....the truth is, I just don't come across people with grammar that poor very often. Even the rougher people from poorer backgrounds that I meet speak better than that.

 

I spent a year going to grade school in Canberra (4th grade). The level of work and the quality of the teachers was evident to little 9 year old me. I loved school in Canberra, and dreaded it in Kansas. I recall my mother praising Australia as full of "good speakers and men with manners". My mother was not free with praises, either.