Have recent generations forgotten correct spelling and grammar?

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 25, 2009

just to get this off my chest...
i too hate the "could of," "would of," "supposed to of" stuff. also the common mix-up of "your" and "you're." and most perplexing of all, what is with the random apostrophes with various words than end in "s"? they'll put 's on the end of verbs, plural nouns, whatever, and yet not consistently, as if they can't figure out whether or not it belongs there so they'll just put it there sometimes and get it 50% right either way.
btw, i get that everybody makes errors and i'm not immune. it's not so much typos that bother me, but you can usually tell when someone just doesn't know how to spell it or hasn't taken the time to think about whether or not it's a plural or a contraction or whether "of" in "could of" makes any sense.

the "could of" and "would of" business annoys the heck out of me, too!

sharpeimom · Oct 25, 2009

as a part-time faculty member in an rn-bsn program, i grade student term papers. these are formal papers written in apa style, etc. i am appalled by the poor grammar, awkward or incorrect word usage, wrong punctuation, etc. that i see in approximately 33% of my students. not only is it "not college level writing," it is "not 8th grade level" writing. the same people seem to also have a lot of time understanding the textbook and the nursing articles that we read in class. these students were obviously "passed along" in their earlier schooling without ever having to master the english language. they haven't forgotten it: they never learned it.
while such students may be adequate direct patient care providers, i am always conflicted about how to grade them. i am not teaching physical bedside care-giving skills. their bedside clinical skills are irrelevant in assessing their academic skills. i am teaching them in their academic classes -- and that level of reading comprehension and writing is simply not at the college (bsn) level. i struggle with that.

my husband is professor of humanities at a major university, and one of the main things he tries to impress on his english students is the idea that how we are perceived by others depends, in great part, on our reading, writing, grammar, usage skills. the impression we make on a person or a committee of people is dependent upon how we express ourselves. we must not assume spellcheck programs are 100% accurate, because they aren't and we must have the knowledge to realize when they are incorrect. he has received many many thank you notes through the years from former students thanking him for being "the grammar and usage police" because it often meant they got the job and not someone (who perhaps had better grades in college) who didn't express themselves as clearly.

correct spelling, grammar, usage and pronunciation were drummed into my head from the time i was little because i come from families heavy with physicians and attorneys and my parents assumed i might

take one of those paths as well. bottom line? good speaking and writing skills are important no matter who you are or what you end up doing.

kathy

sharpeimom:paw::paw:

allnurses Guide · Oct 25, 2009

I think a huge contributor is that many people just don't read anymore, from childhood onwards. I know a lot of my spelling and grammar skills came from being an avid reader all my life. Once you get used to seeing words on a page, it is much easier to recognize inaccurate spelling.

CASTLEGATES · Oct 25, 2009

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/indian-nurses-must-improve-their-english

I think this says a lot (not allot or alot) of what many are phonating here :redbeathe LOL!

More jobs I see recently add this: Licensed or eligible for licensing, ... Proficient in English: Verbal and written communication skills a MUST...

All candidates must be citizens of the United States, graduate of a school of ... U.S. or in the District of Columbia and proficient in spoken and written English. ...

Even for CNA's Must have the ability to read, write and speak English, follow written and verbal instructions and posses math skills along with basic knowledge of computer ... Delivers food trays or nourishments to patient's rooms or nursing units

Apply for one of these jobs with what I've seen on resumes, and it's article 13 for that candidate...Does not bode well in this competitive market. It's a matter of desire. If one takes the time to earn a degree; at least attempt to master your own native language. I see Danes, Swedes and Norweggies and Double wedgies doing better than some locally born candidates; sad.

Blackheartednurse · Oct 26, 2009

Dont people have anything better to write about that this??????? :crying2:

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 26, 2009

dont people have anything better to write about that this???????

as noted above, verbal and written communication skills are essential. in order to be perceived as a professional, one must communicate in a professional manner. however, if you don't agree, you're free to skip this thread and move on to something you consider "better to write about that this."

allnurses Guide · Oct 26, 2009

Not to be biased but forget it, this comment is for the 28 and below group. How much do we actually write out on pen and paper? We email, we text, we myspace, we facebook - all informal so who cares? We write our school papers with spellcheck, we chart on a computer, and in my little experience with charting there is almost always a list that you select from, with occasional annotation. Most text messages auto correct for you when you text, so I think we get lazy. I can think of very few things that are expected to be written out on paper with pen. I am personally a list maker so I write to myself frequently with my to-do list, to buy list, etc. But if I actually stoppped to think about how to spell half of the things I write, I would be in trouble

I am so glad my children ages 28, 22 and 19 years old don't feel this way. The 19 yr old especially hates to use the text abbreviation, "u" as I do. So when we (yes, gasp!) text each other we abbreviate almost every word we can so we don't have to use the abbreviation, "u". :chuckle And, no, she's not a nerd. I think she has 506 Facebook friends.

While it's true one may be able to "get by" relying on technology to fill in the knowledge gap, one will be limiting opportunities in life. I have to admit though, I'm biased. When I see a concisely written, well formatted document I get a little thrill up my leg.

allnurses Guide · Oct 26, 2009

as noted above, verbal and written communication skills are essential. in order to be perceived as a professional, one must communicate in a professional manner. however, if you don't agree, you're free to skip this thread and move on to something you consider "better to write about that this."

agree, she could skip the topic, but i think i'd advise against it :)

blackheartednurse, i'm sorry you perceive this talk as sad and hopeless, but it really is amazing what kind of impressions people form based on just a few words.

HyperSaurus, RN, BSN · Oct 26, 2009

My dad has recently taken up texting. He's trying to use text-speak, rather unsuccessfully. It drives me nuts. I never understood NOT typing with full sentences and correct spelling. It doesn't take that much longer.

MissBrittanyRN · Oct 26, 2009

I am so glad my children ages 28, 22 and 19 years old don't feel this way. The 19 yr old especially hates to use the text abbreviation, "u" as I do. So when we (yes, gasp!) text each other we abbreviate almost every word we can so we don't have to use the abbreviation, "u". :chuckle And, no, she's not a nerd. I think she has 506 Facebook friends.
While it's true one may be able to "get by" relying on technology to fill in the knowledge gap, one will be limiting opportunities in life. I have to admit though, I'm biased. When I see a concisely written, well formatted document I get a little thrill up my leg.

Just to make it clear, my quote was not how I actually feel about not "caring" about correct spelling and grammar. Sorry about confusing the humorless generation, as my comment was meant to be sarcastic. And I am glad your daughter is not a nerd, and I do not think people are nerds if they are familar with proper english. I only think that they are "nerds" if they actually measure their popularity by facebook friends, but congrats to her online popularity:yeah:

MissBrittanyRN · Oct 26, 2009

Not to be biased but forget it, this comment is for the 28 and below group. How much do we actually write out on pen and paper? We email, we text, we myspace, we facebook - all informal so who cares? We write our school papers with spellcheck, we chart on a computer, and in my little experience with charting there is almost always a list that you select from, with occasional annotation. Most text messages auto correct for you when you text, so I think we get lazy. I can think of very few things that are expected to be written out on paper with pen. I am personally a list maker so I write to myself frequently with my to-do list, to buy list, etc. But if I actually stoppped to think about how to spell half of the things I write, I would be in trouble

Just to clarify for those who seem to be bothered by my quote, I did not truly intend to appear not to care. When I was asking about how much we actually write out, I did not mean to state that it was ok to rely on tech. I was simply asking a question about how much THIS GENERATION in general actually writes out these days - it's not very much, and I think that it may be a route for this problem. As for the "who cares" post, I apologize that I did not do more to help readers recognize the sarcasm. Of course I care, as I take pride in my profession, and would not want to display sloppiness.

MissBrittanyRN · Oct 26, 2009

Slightly out of context here...
My 4 yo is just learning to read and write. And we had a meeting with the teacher, in which it was explained to us, parents, how to teach them to read. Basically, I am meant to repeat the same sentence over and over again, pointing at the words, untill she memorises it. It's taken me slightly aback, I would have thought you're meant to read letter by letter (I agree, it doesn't always make sense in English, sometimes what you write and what you read is a totally different kettle of fish, but we're at the very early stages, 2-4 letters words max).
So what she does now, she reads/writes, she remembers the first couple of letters, but when it comes to the end of the word, she sort of makes it up as she goes along.
We're talking British English here, but I have friends who, instead of annoying themselves with 'definitely', they'll write 'defo', much less of a headache this way.
Could the problem be that they are taught to read this way?

I would truly have an issue with this memorizing approach to reading. If you do not learn the sequence of letters, how do you learn the rationale behind their usage and the way that they are pronounced? When you learn the actual sounds that a letter makes by relating it to the surrounding letters, you can apply what you learn to new words. It makes me wonder if these teachers would like a nurse to take care of them who only has facts memorized, as oppose to an actual understanding of the disease process.