Professor says kids no longer need to learn spelling and grammar because of smartphones

Yahoo ^

[Sub-Driver]

Professor says kids no longer need to learn spelling and grammar because of smartphones

The Daily Caller 4 hours ago Education

Several skills that every kid once learned in school are going the way of the dodo in a hurry. Diagramming sentences is practically an extinct art, for example. Cursive handwriting and memorized multiplication tables look to be swiftly headed that way.

Apparently, the next thing that kids will no longer need to learn is spelling and grammar.

Sugata Mitra, a professor of educational technology at Newcastle University in northeast England, announced that traditional language rules are out of fashion, reports the Daily Mail. Kids don’t need to waste time on those things, see. State-of-the-art computers and mobile phones can make the necessary corrections.

Spelling and grammar are “a bit unnecessary because they are skills that were very essential maybe 100 years ago but they are not right now,” Mitra said. “Firstly, my phone corrects my spelling so I don’t really need to think about it and, secondly, because I often skip grammar and write in a cryptic way.”

The professor made the anti-spelling proclamation at a time when the British government is rolling out a host of educational standards including one that will require students to take a spelling test involving 200 complex words near the end of grade school.

Another exam for 11-year-olds that tests spelling, grammar and punctuation was launched this year.

[JLLH]

If the teachers are “certified” and had to jump through the hoops of the completely useless “Education Department” of any college or university, you are correct. Pair that with how hard it is to fire incompetent teachers because of tenure and it’s a recipe for complete disaster. What needs to happen is for these departments to be abolished. Those wanting to teach others need to be masters in their subject matter. No excuses. No exceptions. Ban the unions and tenure as well. THEN — and ONLY then — would you begin to see the state of education in this land rise.

[GeronL]

All kids need to learn for 12 years is to obey master government, fill out welfare forms, where the nearest abortion clinics are (already a big lesson in NYC schools) and crap like that

[CIB-173RDABN]

I want one of those.

Maybe I could “dial” a number without accidentally hitting the wrong number for a change

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I fear that they would marvel at her brilliance and diction.

[StAntKnee]

Exhibit A: Travon’s text messages. Some phones is smarter’n some folks.

[driftless2]

We’re getting closer and closer to the day when the machines completely take over. Some people think that’s a good thing. I remember reading some radical literature in college way back, and reading one article by some hippie who couldn’t wait for the day when machines took over and people could take drugs all day. Do I want to go back to the time before machines? No way. But the more we let some machine do some chore that we could do with a little or a lot of effort, we get closer to the day when machines run our lives. How human will we be then?

[DoughtyOne]

In 2008, I tried to explain what I saw as a looming problem, if Obama/Biden were to be elected vs McCain/Palin.
At the time, I didn't get much feed-back.  It may have appeared to be over the top.  Actually..., it wasn't at all.

If McCain/Palin had been elected, I think civilization would have continued to progress.  That was the intent, showing the highest lofty goals on the right.
If Obama/Biden were to be elected, I saw a decline in civilization before a resurgence of the intellect of man.

Take special note where the year 2010 appears on each slide.  McCain/Palin on the right, but Obama/Biden it's on the far left.
Note how each team affected the ascent of man.

Here we are today, focusing on exactly what I predicted.

Ramirez's latest political cartoon LARGE VERSION 08/04/2013: LINK  LINK to regular sized version of Ramirez's latest, and an archive of his political cartoons.

FOLKS, THOSE OF YOU WHO CAN, PLEASE CLICK HERE AND PENCIL IN YOUR DONATION TO HELP END THIS FREEPATHON.  THANK YOU!
...this is a general all purpose message, and should not be seen as targeting any individual I am responding to...

[lgjhn23]

“...professing themselves to be wise, they became fools...”

[Kip Russell]

I remember 1960's The Time Machine with Rod Taylor. When he went way into the future, the people there couldn't read the books they had - which were splintering and falling to dust from age and neglect - and they were as dumb as rocks and very compliant, something the feral government would love to see happen.

On the other hand, they did look like this:

So it's not as if it's a total loss.

[faithhopecharity]

a professor who couldn’t teach simple grammar and spelling and now has found an excuse to avoid trying

[TASMANIANRED]

Preparing kids for the “want fries with that” job of the future.

[wastedyears]

That one just made me LOL.

[GeronL]

A college professor shouldn’t need to teach simple grammar and spelling if you ask me. Our schools have failed so bad that this is now a college issue?

[bravo whiskey]

my grammar and spelling are rather good but i’m 60 and couldn't deconstruct a sentence beyond basic subject noun and verb. i do say “i am well” (adv modifying a verb) instead of “i am good” (adj which can only modify a noun.). i had a high school english teacher (Mr. Karl Yount 1967-69) who hated teaching grammar but recognized the importance of clear communication. he broke down all the grammar and punctuation rules we needed to know into 3 class periods the first week of the semester. no parsing per se just “you need a comma here because....” and you lost points for spelling and grammar.
obviously my quirk is all lower case and i am very forgiving about typos, maybe even a there for their because i can think faster than (not then) i type. this probably comes from my K-12 instruction and having worked as a technical illustrator with technical writers and editors for the past 22 years. and i rarely text, don't even have a smart phone

[Kip Russell]

If you make the movie in the '70s, Weena looks like this:

But if you make it in 2002, she looks like this:

Which is interesting, given that in the original novel by H. G. Wells, they are described as the Eloi are described as being smaller than modern humans, having shoulder-length curly hair, chins that ran to a point, large eyes, small ears, and small mouths with bright red thin lips.

[bgill]

[faithhopecharity]

yes.
many colleges are cutting out advanced courses or even Shakespeare and Chaucer and so forth,
and putting in remedial English classes

due to the need, failure of grammar schools and high schools...to do the job..

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I used to live in Orick. Auto correct does a fine job with that one.

[faithhopecharity]

no need of real English classes, Shakespeare or? anymore....

not with modern technology

http://collegeofsanmateo.edu/film/docs/FILM680.pdf

[rockrr]

No comment..........

I thought it ironic that this thread and the "Voluntary Human Extinction Movement" thread should be posted back~to~back. They both represent the nihilistic bent of humans that is rapidly reaching the tipping point.

When a significant number of people devolve to the point where they no longer hold any interest in the future of their own species it bodes ill for all of us. Because in one way or another they will seek to drag us down with them.

I wish I knew what could be done - all I know is to separate myself from them and try to shield my family from their degenerate influences.