I was reading an article on USA Today entitled “Does Spelling Still Matter”. This made me stop and wonder if spelling really does matter in this day of technology where we have spellcheck. With many schools not focusing on spelling anymore, is it still important that my children learn to spell? The answer for me is YES!
I think there are many reasons why spelling still matters. When thinking about the reasons, there were two that I kept coming back to. The first and most obvious reason is I want my kids to look smart when it comes time for them to get a job. If they can’t spell correctly on a job application or resume, are they going to be looked at seriously?
The second, and most important reason, is not being able to spell can greatly affect your ability to read. The article states “kids not taught spelling are not likely to do as well on the state reading and writing tests”. This statement really hit home to me!
As the parent of a child who had much difficulty with spelling, I learned that his problem with spelling also became a problem with how he was reading the questions on these tests. Each year, in preparation for these tests, my child would come home with his practice books for us to go over the questions he missed. Most of the missed questions were wrong because he read them wrong. Each time he read a word wrong I would tell him what it actually was and he would say “Oh, well that makes it a totally different question!”. After knowing what the real question was, he would answer almost always with the correct answer. This makes me wonder how many questions did he get wrong on the actual tests? How could his difficulty with spelling affect his test scores?
The answer to the question “Does Spelling Still Matter?” for me is yes! We will continue to practice spelling in our house.