I know spelling errors happen but I am amazed by the poor grammatical skills of so many of the posters on the AntigoBuzz. It is almost embarrassing.
Are these people who have fallen through the cracks in our education system or is this the norm of today’s high school graduate? It is something we, as a community, should be concerned about.
…
When you type with passion, spelling and grammar often fall in the cracks. I am not saying this covers everyone but it is a part.
Blame twitter, texting and facebook.
The problem of deteriorating language shills is more complicated than just Twitter, texting, and Facebook. You have add to the equation consideration for TV (all of it!), low regard for academic excellence among the general public, America’s happy worship of mediocrity and easy celebrity, and the pervasive influence of hip-hop culture. It’s hard to fly with the eagles when you live in a flock of turkeys.
“language shills”?! Not bad…. Not what I intended, but not bad!
Proof reading is important. Even 3 hours later…
Thank you for finally bring this scary topic to the table!
Peronally this is one of my favorite little gems as recently posted on the “Zingale’s New Village Inn Closing” Blog…
This is cut and paste verbatium folks: (hide the children)
“conern paitrent says:
April 21, 2011 at 11:56 am
If Paul and kathy know anything about running a business Im sure he probabley took steps to make sure Bruce does not interferr with the business. After all when some one leases a place they have no right with any of the disession on how to do their business. Unlike Jean and Pat. When I would go in and eat after words I would sit at the bar. I would over here things, but I dont always believe what i here. As time when on I sat with Paul and he showed me some of the texts he received for Jeannie, and that showed me that Pat and Jean arent that innecint. People or saying poor them, but they didnt have to move, they could of run the place themselves. The only thing is all the times I was going into Check Point their business was going down hill bad. People who spreads rumors with out backing it up, I really feel sad for them. Because if thats all they have to do with there life is gossipp and spread rumors, they must live a awful dull life and your missing alot in life. But I guess some people gets their fix and joy out of life but slandering other peoples name. They have a miserable life so there going to make other peoples lives miserable to. To bad for them. To me Jean and Pat couldnt make a go of Check Point (because it was going down hill) they didnt want anybody else to scuecced either. All I have to say is people who have nothing better to do, GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
All I have to say is people: GET A SPELL CHECK!!!!!!!!!!!!
But that’s just me…
Please accept my appologizes…I would be remiss is I did not acknowledge the following Point/Counterpoint from this astute challenger:
“to whom it may concern says:
April 22, 2011 at 6:27 pm
nobody said Bobbie wasnt professionaly. She is ok UNITL you get her mad and she doesnt get what she wants. Then she will stab you in the back. She is a spoiled brat who thinks she should get what she wants when she wants it. I know that for a FACT. If you dont know Paul and Kathy then keep your month shut and dont judge people you have never met. But the goes back to what Fed Up said and alot of others some people just cant think for themselves. There like some kids where people have to think for them. Some thrird grades are smarter then that.”
Well played….Well played indeed!
Consider the Antigo Daily Journal’s role in all this. The ADJ runs display ads encouraging folks to buy subscriptions so their kids can read ADJ. Given ADJ’s proclivity for creative grammar abuse and non-graphable sentence structure, that’s like selling cupcakes to raise money for fighting childhood obesity.
The dumbing down of America. Sad.
I was not an A+ student. There were many subjects in school I had no interest in learning about. I think my saving grace was that I loved to read. I would read the book instead of watching the movie. The times I did watch the movie after reading the book I was always disappointed with the movie version.
So what is the problem? A lot of people have computers and the internet. Many are not college educated. Some dropped out of high school. As a result, some of the people who post on here do not have good writing skills. If I had to guess, I’d say their verbal communication skills aren’t real great either. And if they had to identify themselves, they wouldn’t bother to post. But I, for one, am thankful that they express their opinions. Speaking of falling through the cracks of the education system, have any of you “spell checkers” ever heard Donald Trump speak? As opposed to some people who could be described as poor and uneducated, or poor and ignorant, he is filthy rich and apallingly stupid. Just a plain old attention grabbing dumba$$!
P.S. David Says: Thank you for finally bring this scary topic to the table!
Peronally this is one of my favorite little gems as recently posted on the “Zingale’s New Village Inn Closing” Blog…
Shouldn’t that be “bringing & personally”?
You know what amazes me, in this computer/internet age is that every computer on the market for at least the last 5 years or so underlines a misspelled word with a red line. Bad speller or not, everyone should recognize a red line (unless red/green color blind, and then they see a grey line). Ignorance is excusable (it simply means uneducated on that subject), however stupid is incurable.
I disagree with the need to post the comments of others to prove your point. Anyone who reads the boards regularly could see what you mean without a person being singled out. I wouldn’t want my comments picked apart.
At this point, it would behoove us to offer solutions because being shocked isn’t going to fix anything. Does anyone have any ideas besides using software to correct errors?
Yes, here’s a suggestion; take some of the teachers that think we should be paying for their retirement and ask them what happened in Phonics class! Am I the only person to notice that Wisconsin schools are increasingly losing funding due to poor test scores? Is Governor Walker really that far off track? I think not when I look at the grammatical errors on these posts. Let’s not pick the people who have struggled with education apart, and try to do something to help them. Berating them and “politically correctly” calling them stupid only adds fuel to the fire. Another potential issue with calling people out is the embarrassment. If you were unable to read or write very well, would you be in a hurry to run off and tell someone when everyone is calling you stupid? C’mon Antigo, let’s figure out a solution, and quit compounding the problem!
If you want to point the finger at someone for this community’s piss poor education, you shoulod try the miserable parents who would rather spend their time in the bar than raise their children. The teachers in this district bust their rears at a thankless job for a thankless community for far less than they are worth because they are some of the very few who actually give a damn about the future of our kids.
What does raising your children have to do with teaching them how to spell? Not every individual is thankless, much like not all students are illiterate. I for one appreciate the education that my kids get, and I am very appreciative of the job the teachers do. But, to suggest that for some reason this district is superior to any others, would be ludicrous. I was educated in this town, and I have to say that I do not believe the teachers today have the same goals in mind as the teachers that educated me. My parents raised me for s**t, and I was physically and emotionally abused on a daily basis. But, while you may not agree with what I say, you can see that I received a good education. Believe me…it wasn’t on account of anything that my folks did for me. It was the teacher’s ability to reach an unreachable person. Today they don’t reach them, they pump them full of Adderol, or Ritalin, and call them ADHD, and in some instances, learning disabled. Turns out, that is way easier than actually trying to reach the kids, and nobody has to accept responsibility for the simple lack of education. Sorry if you don’t agree, but that is the reality of it now. An education isn’t worth what it once was, and that is a shame.
I think 90% of the people in this world have the ability to learn if they choose. If I was able to pass college anybody can. I probably graduated Antigo High School number 145 out of 149. I made the mistake of not realizing how important an education was until I was 35. This is something I preach to my kids everyday, and tell them to not make the same mistakes I did. I hope they listen to me.
Consider this: Antigo is an agricultural community, with tourism as a major (but somewhat crippled) sideline. In a community like Antigo, there is no need for, and therefore no incentive for the development of, any academic skills beyond the most basic literacy. In some cases, even literacy is not a requirement for social and economic security. What would it take to develop a culture supporting excellence in academic performance? As Yogi Berra said in regard to low ballgame ticket sales, “If the fans aren’t coming out, how can you stop them?” The answer is, play the game better than you have been doing.
I think this is an accurate assessment…check it out http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-americas-schools/2011/05/09/AFunW27G_story.html
Its parental involvement too.. I was raised to be a loser. I was stuck in LD classes and left to rot. By the time I was no longer diagnosed as having a learning disability, I was too far behind to catch up in regular classes.
I blame the school system.. I also blame my parents. I am not sure if my parents took the advise of the school system, or if they pushed to put a label on me for the purpose of collecting an SSI check. I am scared to find out how many kids today are in the situation when I was a child.. Put a label on a child.. Parents collect an SSI check, school receives more subsidizes in return. I honestly believe there are people who are LD and need LD programs. I’d like to know if the programs are abused for easy money.. Or if the situation like myself was an isolated incident? or widespread?
I think what you will find is that nowadays it is easier to medicate the child than actually try to reach them. It is easier to stick a kid in a special class because nobody wants to take the time to reach them. Sad state of affairs.
I had a child who was in a special education class in the Antigo School system and couldn’t have been happier with her education and the progress she made. She has since completed her need for the special education class.
I was very involved in what was going on. I attended ALL IEPs. If I didn’t understand or agree with something I spoke up and was listened to. I treated the teachers with respect and got the same in return. I also took a lot of time working with my daughter at home. I was at her side for homework time and I figured out ways to make the lessons cross over into daily life as well. ( I am a single mother of three who works full time and goes to school, so it wasn’t always easy or convenient, but it was necessary so I made it work).
My point I guess is that children are going to get out of special education classes, what they and their parents put into it. It may start with the educators, but it is not soley their responsibility. As parents we are advocates for our children and must be involved and make sure they are getting what they need, not only from the schools but at home as well.
I agree Mel..the trouble that I see is that children that do not need special education may not find it mentally stimulating enough. This also causes behavioral and learning issues. I am glad to hear it worked out for you.
Well, it’s not spelling that’s atrocious, but the GRAMMAR of the people in this town! It’s not just the kids of today with their cell phone use; it’s their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents!!
I SEEN you at the store yesterday.
They COME over last night and we played cards.
HIM and ME went to Smitty’s bar (pronounced SHmitty’s).
HE AIN’T GOT NO money.
THEM are really good candy bars.
_____
Hello, people!!!! You watch TV. Do you ever hear people on TV speaking like that? Well, on Roseanne and Red/Green, but they are making FUN of people who speak like that!!
Teachers ought to be SCREENED better before getting hired. But then again, administrators need to speak correctly, too!!
I’ve never heard of a student being corrected for speaking this way.
Also, MANY MANY of the teachers speak this way!!! THAT is sad.
teachers could stand at the front of class and try to teach children till they are blue in the face, but that doesnt make the children listen. maybe the parents should be teaching their children to listen and respect their teachers/ officials so that they can learn without having to be disciplined which in the school systems now is a complete joke. yelling doesnt work, sending them out of class doesnt work, hmm i do believe when children went to school back a few decades(when paddling and other real punishments were allowed) they actually learned something!
Not a popular post- but do I care?
Get lives, people. If this is all you have to worry about, I’d say you were doing pretty well in life.
I did fantastic in English and spelling all throughout school. Do I care whether you can spell, or form a perfect sentence? As long as you can get your point across; and you make an effort to speak out, that’s what’s important. I’m guessing that if we examine each of your lives, we could all find something to criticize. What would be the point? Are you that genuinely interested in helping others? Or do you just like to cut others down to make yourself feel superior?
If you’ve noticed that “red line” on computers that underlines misspelled words, oftentimes the word is spelled correctly. So now who do we blame?
I expect perfection from the media, because that’s their business. But for everyday Joes – is it really that much of a problem for you?
This is getting back to the topic. Which is poor spelling and grammar on the Antigo Buzz. Posting on the Buzz is not a job, its a hobby, something to do in my spare time. I type documents all day. Why should I run a spellcheck and proof before I send my post? Half of the people on here are morons who can’t tie their shoe, let alone figure out that I spelled grammer wrong.
Today’s (?) ADJ has a Strasser obituary. Waupun is misspelled – twice. (Waupan) That’s not a typo… that’s just plain – stupidity? I hope y’all who are sticklers for perfect spelling and grammar call them up and complain.