Why do people feel so superior because they can spell?

[MushyMushy]

I see it here on the boards, and I see it in real life. It really saddens me!

I can spell just about any word I've seen. I guess I just have a good memory that way. It doesn't make me intellectually superior -- I have my weaknesses. That's why I can't figure out why people act like they are so superior when they see others who can't spell.

My daughter is a horrendous speller, probably gets it after my husband. Hubby is a math genius though, and also one of the smartest men I know. My daughter has a learning disability, so no amount of studying or reading will help her to spell words properly. She loves to write stories and has recently started writing poetry. As an English teacher, I have to say that her writing is actually pretty decent for her age except for the spelling errors. She's got a great vocabulary and decent grammar skills.

This past weekend, she was sharing one of her stories with three girls her age and when I walked into the room, they were ripping her to shreds about her spelling, making fun of her mercilessly. I felt horrible for her. Thankfully she didn't seem hurt or upset by it. I think she's just used to it. I shudder to think how people would treat her on message boards or online. Even with spell checks, her spelling is bad enough that they probably wouldn't help much.

Maybe I'll get flamed for this and maybe I'll deserve it, but just so you know, there are some pretty darn NICE people that are being picked apart for one visible flaw. My hubby and daughter would give you the shirts off their backs, regardless of how well you can spell.

 

[parrothead365]

Sed it befor ans I'll say it agin only narow minded pepole spel words just one way.

 

[crz4mm2]

I think it makes people "appear" stupid if they misspell words (or use incorrect grammar for that matter).
I am a terrible "speller" but I know how to Google

 

[MushyMushy]

Spelling Poem

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

 

[FireDancer]

Kids make fun of kids. If it wasn't for spelling it would be something else. It has been like that for ever and will continue.

I am a terrible speller and if it weren't for using Firefox with built in spell check I would have way more errors. I think grammar errors that are obvious (like double negatives or completely wrong words) are much more telling then spelling, at least in an informal setting. They are much worse when spoken then typed though and you can't tell someone can't spell when they speak.

 

[Tink888]

I've always been a good speller. DS13 isn't. One of his teachers once told me that when it comes to spelling, you either have it or you don't.

Growing up, it was always drilled into my head by my teachers how important it was to write well and spell correctly because people will always form an impression of you by what you write. Maybe that's where (not so much a superiority thing) but the incorrect assumption of a lack of intelligence thing comes from. Not saying it's right, just an explanation.

I also think that people in general just like to find something to feel superior to someone else about you know? My house is bigger than yours.....I'm thinner......my job is better.......my kids are perfect, etc. and on and on it goes. There are a lot of people in the world who compare themselves to others as a way to feel better about themselves. Spelling is just another one of those things.

 

[Jennasis]

Spelling errors LOOK sloppy and lazy. If your daughter wishes to be a writer, she needs to make friends with the spell check function on her computer. I say this as an aspiring writer myself. If I were to submit a query letter with spelling errors to a literary agent, it would likely end up in the trash no matter how awesome the manuscript it represented was.

I am positive though, that her spelling issues have NO bearing on her personality or creativity! It does not make her inferior to anyone. I would just continue to press upon her that spelling counts and there is no second chance at a first impression, so always double check your spelling when it counts.

On a messij bord? it rilly dont mater!

 

[shortbun]

Sorry for your daughter. I don't like seeing words spelled incorrectly; it bugs me. I would never ridicule anyone but I wish people would learn to spell.

 

[Christine]

I say this VERY tongue-in-cheek: Good spellers have to lord it over everyone else because they are *usually* pretty crappy in math. And we all know that math and science get ALL the glory in this country.

I've always been a great speller but very weak in math. I agree with the poster upthread who says that with spelling, you either have it or you don't. I've believe that's true with math. I could work on math forever and really never be good at it. It just confounds me. So, I think that's why spellers get their superiority complex.

Having said that, my mom is a terrible speller but I consider her to be very smart (she is also very mathmatically minded). I don't ever think poor spellers are dumb. What's dumb is when you know it's your weakness and you send out that resume anyway without having anyone look it over for you. Your daughter is a child, in school, and isn't going to be able to do that with impromptu writing assignments but it will get better as she gets older.

 

[mamacatnv]

Kids are mean to each other, they just are. If it didn't bug your DD don't let it bug you, she is okay with her inability to spell and that is a good thing since it is such a struggle for her.

I think our younger generation is much more lax when it comes to spelling than say my generation. I hate to use the whole generational thing but I think it's true to some degree. Those of us who went through school pre computer/text age view (albeit incorrectly) good spelling and grammar as an accomplishment and often an indicator of intelligence. My college age kid views spelling as something to convey his message in as few letters as possible. ie text speak.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Kids make fun of kids. If it wasn't for spelling it would be something else. It has been like that for ever and will continue.

I am a terrible speller and if it weren't for using Firefox with built in spell check I would have way more errors. I think grammar errors that are obvious (like double negatives or completely wrong words) are much more telling then spelling, at least in an informal setting. They are much worse when spoken then typed though and you can't tell someone can't spell when they speak.

I completely agree. Most kids are made fun of at one point or another for something they can't "help" (I was definitely one of them).

I'm a great speller. It's just something I've always been good at (look at me ending a sentence with a preposition ). Bad spelling doesn't annoy me like bad grammar does (although I'm certainly not perfect and not the grammar police). I love when my Dad leaves me notes because they are always completely in capital letters and usually misspelled but they always make me smile .

 

[FireDancer]

I'm a great speller. It's just something I've always been good at (look at me ending a sentence with a preposition ).

That comes from your time in Ohio. We are pretty much known for ending sentences with prepositions, uh, at.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Sorry for your daughter. I don't like seeing words spelled incorrectly; it bugs me. I would never ridicule anyone but I wish people would learn to spell.

I guess we all have wishes, then.

OP, my son can't spell too well, either. He's got a high IQ, so intelligence has nothing to do with it. Sometimes spell checkers catch it, sometimes they don't. I think the content of the writing says way more about a person and their intelligence, than the spellings of the words.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

That comes from your time in Ohio. We are pretty much known for ending sentences with prepositions, uh, at.

I blame all of my bad habits on OH .

 

[RadioNate]

Terrible speller here. I wish I could just 'learn to spell.' It doesn't come naturally. I was trying to spell something the other day and even my spell check couldn't figure out what I was trying to write. I finally had to type a synonym into the thesaurus function in order to find the correct spelling.

My poor mom would drill me over and over on spelling words. I'd write them over and over. I'd take the test and fail.

I was finally tested for an 'encoding' learning disability when I was in college! Of course I passed that test!

Worst spelling memory? The 6th grade "Alison Spelling Hotline." Each week different classmates were responsible for helping me learn a spelling word. 10 words on the test, 10 different kids will call me throughout the week and drill me on the word. If I missed the word, they also got it wrong. Guess how many kids hated me that year???

 

[phragmipedium]

Spelling comes naturally for me as well and I also have a good memory for words once I've seen them. I think it's unkind to pick on people who aren't good at it for no reason.

I think a common instance spelling errors are pointed out (especially on message boards) is when someone makes a post that's tearing someone else apart or talking about how intelligent they are, and it's full of misspellings. People go for an easy and obvious weakness when they're on attack, and I see misspellings get called out much more frequently in the above situation than just random errors. I don't correct misspellings at all on message boards, but I do notice them more in a post where someone is being snarky toward someone else, and it makes the person look a little silly. We all have our weaknesses, and no one's perfect.

It doesn't sound like that's the case with your daughter, though - I always felt bad for my friends growing up who really struggled with spelling because other kids do make fun of it. Kids can just be mean for no good reason.

 

[disneyfans95]

When it comes to message boards like this, taking the time to at least attempt to spell is important.

If making at least a modest attempt at spelling is too hard for someone, then what you are trying to say, must not be that important.

I am not talking about one or two word that are not correct. It is the ones where people are just lazy and don't even bother to review.

 

[Hoodie]

When it comes to message boards like this, taking the time to at least attempt to spell is important.

If making at least a modest attempt at spelling is too hard for someone, then what you are trying to say, must not be that important.

I am not talking about one or two word that are not correct. It is the ones where people are just lazy and don't even bother to review.

This. Some spelling mistakes on message boards are typing errors. "Teh" comes to mind (and one I almost always make). However, I do view consistently poor spelling and grammar as lazy. I'm certainly not the best person with spelling or grammar, but I make the effort.

Now don't get me started on "text speak".

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Worst spelling memory? The 6th grade "Alison Spelling Hotline." Each week different classmates were responsible for helping me learn a spelling word. 10 words on the test, 10 different kids will call me throughout the week and drill me on the word. If I missed the word, they also got it wrong. Guess how many kids hated me that year???

OMgosh, that was rough!

OP, I'm one of those that's kind of driven crazy by bad grammar/spelling, but I've never felt superior because of it. I truly get distracted when I'm reading and come across a word that is "not right." And for the poster who said that good speller usually means poor math - I think that is more true than not.

I think I've always been this way. My very good friend reminded me once, when we were adults, that I used to get the notes she passed to me in class and CORRECT THEM and send them back to her. Good thing she looked past that and still remained friends with me. lol I would never purposely try to make some feel badly about the way they write/talk, though.

I realized how stupid I was being over this distraction a few years ago, and now I really concentrate on the message much more than the delivery (attitude adjustment). However, it's nice to join in on a vent thread now and then because there are others like me in this regard.

I also consider that people who post only to correct someone else's spelling/grammar to be rather uncouth, but then again, just my opinion.

 

[MushyMushy]

Spelling errors LOOK sloppy and lazy. If your daughter wishes to be a writer, she needs to make friends with the spell check function on her computer. I say this as an aspiring writer myself. If I were to submit a query letter with spelling errors to a literary agent, it would likely end up in the trash no matter how awesome the manuscript it represented was.

I am positive though, that her spelling issues have NO bearing on her personality or creativity! It does not make her inferior to anyone. I would just continue to press upon her that spelling counts and there is no second chance at a first impression, so always double check your spelling when it counts.

On a messij bord? it rilly dont mater!

Yeah, I'm trying to get her to learn how to type. Right now she hunts and pecks, so writing is a pain in the neck. It's much easier for her to do it handwritten using mom as spell check. She'll fill up 2-3 pages, then hand it to me to correct. It gets old real quick, but I sure don't want to discourage her from trying, so I go ahead and do it.

My son also has a learning disability and has poor spelling, but he can at least recognize when words are spelled wrong. She can't even recognize it.