I’m okay with this.
Causing confusion among parents, a growing number of schools are ditching tradition for a different method of teaching spelling that focuses less on memorization and more on understanding why and how words are constructed.
Some districts, including Clear Creek and Conroe, have gone as far as encouraging teachers to scrap the typical spelling test — no longer should students get a list of words on Monday and be quizzed on them on Friday. Instead, students should be graded on how well they spell in their writing and whether they stumble on certain words when reading aloud.
The idea is to teach today’s students, who are most at ease abbreviating words in text messages, that spelling still matters — not just for a good grade on a test.
I like that approach, even if the Chron’s editorial board doesn’t. I’ve never cared for rote memorization as a teaching tool. I’d much rather see the curriculum emphasize vocabulary and writing skills, for which spelling can still be used as a point of evaluation. I hope HISD watches this experiment closely, and gives consideration to adopting the practice.
UPDATE: If this were the template for teaching spelling, I’d have no objections.
Why not both? That’s how I learned to spell back in elementary school. We had spelling tests, with lists of words, but we also learned the rules about why and how.
Some HISD schools are already moving toward this. I know my kids have “VW” (Vocabulary Workshop?) this year instead of spelling – there are still weekly tests, but the lists are all around a root or phonics sort of theme and the meanings of words are really emphasized.
Of course, some of the word choices are a bit extreme for elementary school (deposition, anyone?), but we’ll see.
Charles
Are you saying that writing skills are important but that spelling is not? How can you judge the quality of the writing if the words used in the writing are not spelled correctly? “Sea Jane run” does not have the same meaning as “See Jane run.”
Jost, what I’m saying is that I don’t like the idea of teaching spelling by rote memorization. Emphasize vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills, of which spelling is a component. I don’t see how anyone who learned those things would make the mistake you cite, or the mistakes that Chron editorial cites, or the ones noted in that cartoon. I believe that if you know what words mean and you know how to use them, spelling will follow.