I connect with this article! A friend of mine an di have been having this polite debate about the state of our daughters' spelling. I am going to show hier this article. Before this I was able to share with her my educated guesses about why we no longer focus on rote spelling and encourage creativity. It can kill off all desires to write (let alone creatively) for gear of doing it "wrong". That in order to build skills we must first experiment with them in a safe environment.
I actually snorted out loud (SOL) at "Too often I have seen the fun go out of writing when family mwmbers get involved, especially when they demand adult writing conventions from six- and seven year olds" (Cusumano, 2008, p.9).
My friend has gone so far as to say that her daughters spelling is an example of "lazzy teaching" (fighting words???). After Cusumano and Sound Systems, I think not!! I think that spelling is a seperate skill (as far as learning goes) from writing. That the two merge more fluidly after elementary school and that it is of utmost importance that we put the focus on expressing ourselves in written language seperate from spelling.
My daughter can spell a word correctly on a spelling test and then mispell the same word in a book that she is writing. Different focuses. Both need to be supported.
I agree with you, spelling and writing are two different focuses and both need to be supported. I was reminded of the kids in our math videos being able to solve a problem in one setting and not in another when you said that your daughter could spell a word correctly on a spelling test but misspell that same word while writing. It's so weird how kids make connections, and its important not to become overly critical when they are experimenting and developing.
ReplyDeleteHi David,
ReplyDeleteI find it intriguing to try and figure out all the little skills that go into learning a "skill". Like writing a spelling word. Must spell right, form the letters right, get it onto the paper in right order.... Ugh, how do we learn all of this and almost more importantly for us how do we forget how we learned all of this???