that if you see a word often enough, you will get to know it – a method dependent on the visual memory. How is it that a child using klosd for closed will necessarily see the correct form more often than the incorrect one and therefore be able to select the right one to commit to memory? Moreover the selection is further confused when a misspelling goes uncorrected by the teacher.
When a child has a piece of work returned with spelling mistakes uncorrected, one may well ask, not only “How does the child know he has made a mistake?”, but even worse “How does he know that every other word is in fact correct?”. After her father pointed out uncorrected errors in a piece of work marked “Good”, one little girl asked why the teacher was lying to her! Correct spelling is in fact part of the knowledge that a child goes to school to learn; by withholding it the child is not only being short-changed but is also being deceived.
The time has come now for us to be honest with our children; to make available to them all the knowledge to which they are entitled – so that they can develop well-informed skills, honed by systematic training in listening, processing and application. These are the tools required for constructing a lifetime of competence and confidence in reading, writing and spelling.
Barbara Dykes is author of Best Sellers, “Spelling Made Easy”, “Grammar Made Easy”, and “Grammar For Everyone”. She is a registered teacher and partner in Quantum Literacy www.quantum-literacy.com.au – a business that specializes in literacy resources.