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Monday, December 3, 2012

Spelling and student writing: Does it matter much? Should it matter more? | Get Schooled

Spelling and student writing: Does it matter much? Should it matter more? | Get Schooled:


Spelling and student writing: Does it matter much? Should it matter more?

testing (Medium)With the exception of top brass, very few reporters and editors in newsrooms have offices. Our desks are so close that if I stretch too far, I could knock my colleague Kyle Wingfield in the head. (Not that he couldn’t use a friendly thump to the head now and then.)
So both praise and proscription are often overheard by all in newsrooms. I find it more painful to be a bystander to a pillorying than to be a victim.
One of the worst lashings I ever overheard was directed at a reporter who confused “it’s” and “its” in the lead of an important story, a mistake that also slipped by the copy desk.  The editor lamented that the piece could have been a contest entry but for that mistake.
His critique must have stayed with me because I can’t get past the misuse of the words to this day.
And that includes a presentation of new standards in my own school system a while back.  The audience was handed examples of excellent student work. And the writing and reasoning were impressive. …