We've gone to the dark side and finally joined the Twits. Mostly because it's easier to follow Jon's slacking if we have an account, ha.http://twitter.com/realitytvkids
Follow us on Twitter.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Follow us on Twitter
We've gone to the dark side and finally joined the Twits. Mostly because it's easier to follow Jon's slacking if we have an account, ha.http://twitter.com/realitytvkids
70 sediments (sic) from readers:
I won't be tweeting about these twits. Just reading the blog raises my blood pressure. Kate plus 8 will soon be history on the television, THANK GOD. They are running out of gas quicker than a Hummer on a desert highway. So Long Kate.
Kelly, you summed it up for me too! But, Admin, you are so cute...going to the dark side --indeed! LOL
If this is what twittering is about I am glad I'm not on it.
I do not "get" Twitter. Who in the world wants total strangers to know what movie they just watched, where they had tea or to read them cussing like drunken potheads? It sounds like a fad that needs to close down soon, IMO.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Who in the world wants total strangers to know their kids' names, their kids' personal habits, or watch them have
tantrums? It sounds like a fad that needs to close down soon, IMO.
Why join Twitter, make a post of it, and then remove the tweets? From what I read before you deleted them, one of the tweets was from your "tipster" about the Jon sighting.
Why are you watching Admin's twitter account like a stalker? Are you obsessed? I know you are the same Just watching who posted earlier. You're sad yourself.
Admin they're obsessed with you! You have crazy fans just like Kate!
I won't be tweeting, I've already done enough damage. I came home frome work last night and my bf was WATCHING K+8 re-runs. Told me I talk about the plight of the G8 and that he needed to see for himself.
I felt sick. By being moderately "obsessed" with this saga, I've encouraged someone who never heard of K8 to watch her.
Gag.
Maybe it's damned if you do and damned if you don't.
melissaf
Anonymous said... "I felt sick. By being moderately "obsessed" with this saga, I've encouraged someone who never heard of K8 to watch her."
Yes that is exactly what happens. All the blogging creates curiosity. That's why the anti-kate bloggers are called enablers.
Three judges on American Idol are being replaced next season. Does anyone think that is why Kate was in L.A. last week - to let them know she is available?
I can't remember where, but I did read she is still looking at houses in the L.A. area.
How does Twitter work? Do you have to get Twitter (which I have no desire to do) to follow Twitter?
That's why,
The number of blogs about Kate has increased over the past year. The number of people tuning in to watch her are going down not up. Kate Plus 8 lost over a million viewers when the last episode aired. How does that explain the notion that bloggers are enabling? I say it's the bloggers who are creating increasing awareness of this fraud named Kate Gosselin. We're unsheepling the masses. ^^
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Who in the world wants total strangers to know their kids' names, their kids' personal habits, or watch them have
tantrums? It sounds like a fad that needs to close down soon..."
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Exactly. Nothing is sacred anymore. Privacy has been thrown out the window. Why anyone would want others to know their whereabouts, where they vacation, what time they go to sleep, if they're constipated, etc. etc., borders on the ridiculous. In fact, isn't that a bit of narcissism rearing its ugly head? The old ego thing -- I'm important, here's what I do, here's what my kids do. It's almost an electronic version of the old Christmas card newsletter sent out en masse, detailing every move you've made throughout the year, with the usual embellishments/bragging, of course. Who cares?
And then, if and when something tragic happens because stalkers are watching, and a child goes missing, the parent says, "I don't get it. What did I do wrong?" Well, duh, you shared your daily comings and goings with people you don't even know.
I have to ask how Eileen O'Neill would feel if cameras followed her and her partner around at work and at home, edited it to just show the most mundane and the most theatric, and put it on TV for all to see. I think she'd get annoyed with the intrusion pretty fast. I would also ask how long her partnership would last under the stress.
I follow certain comics. I also felt an earthquake, searched for earthquake, and was instantly relieved to know I wasn't imagining the earth shaking.
Some people tweet boring or personal things. Some tweet profound or funny things. To each their own but some of us really enjoy following celebrities or reading what others might say (in 140 characters or less) about a certain subject.
Don't knock it till you've tried it.
"Don't knock it till you've tried it."
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I expressed my opinion about it, and I won't try it. It's not for everyone, and it's not for me. I don't have to try something to know that it's not something I would ever want to do. For example, I know that I don't want to be shot into the air on one of those extreme amusement park rides, and therefore, I won't try it. I think I know myself pretty darn well by now to know what I would like and what I wouldn't like. I don't need to test the waters.
If there are those who want to be internet voyeurs and enjoy peeking into the lives of those who are willing to share private aspects of their lives, that's fine. It's a sort of mutual symbiosis. There are those who enjoy watching, and those who enjoy being watched. But please don't tell me not to knock it until I've tried it.
Anonymous said... Three judges on American Idol are being replaced next season. Does anyone think that is why Kate was in L.A. last week - to let them know she is available?
I can't remember where, but I did read she is still looking at houses in the L.A. area
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If Kate was in town to let the AI producers know she was available good for her.
However please note that I have faith that the AI producers know that a judge must have some kind of a talent or background to be qualified to judge a singing contest other than a womb that can support 6 babies for X number of weeks.
Besides once again I think her diva actions on DWTS would prevent them from considering her.
As for the house hunting rumor, during DWTS it was reported she was looking. Then about a week later Niecy Nash on THE INSIDER asked Kate point blank if she was moving to L.A. Kate's response was along the lines of "no not at this time" but as a viewer I got the impression that if there was a job Kate would most definitely move here.
JMO
Julianna, wow. Why so defensive?
I didn't say you HAD to do it I just said it has it's entertaining benefits and just because you don't partake, doesn't mean it's not enjoyable to others.
Sorry, I wrote this on the previous entry, not realizing everyone is over here now....so I'm copying it here:
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I believe that blogging about the show and the issues involved is very different from actually watching the show. As far as the children being on TV, it's simply a matter of what ratings the show receives. It's all about money and advertising dollars. There are plenty of individuals who get attention/press, be it negative or positive, and it doesn't necessarily result in significant money/ratings/roles for them.
In fact, I have a hunch that this will become evident if Twist of Kate ever airs...after the first one or two episodes.
Take Lindsay Lohan for example. She is all over the internet and the mags but she's been having difficulty getting roles for quite some time now...despite all the attention she's gotten. In the end, you have to be able to perform well enough to attract a large audience and you have to be someone the employers can work with.
On the blogs that are run by and read by intelligent people, there are several issues that make this situation relevant...and not just useless gossip. First and foremost is the exploitation of children issue. But there is also the issue of reality TV in general....what it's become and what effects it has on society.
In an article in the Washington Post (regarding the newest Real Housewives show), the author wrote-----------
"It's sad because of everything that got us to this point. It's sad because of how little we ever see of "real" women on television; it's easy to look around at our culture and feel that the scales have tipped, and more people are pretending to star in their own reality shows, supplying their own cameras".
I remember watching "Sweet Sixteen" on MTV several years ago and when the birthday gal said, with total seriousness, "I am gonna be a diva when I grow up"......I wondered, how in the world are these shows affecting our children? They think fame is a just a hop and a skip away.
AuntieAnn said....
"I say it's the bloggers who are creating increasing awareness of this fraud named Kate Gosselin. We're unsheepling the masses."
Bingo! I agree 100%.
Lindsay Lohan has not had trouble finding roles since her run ins with the law. She is missing
the promotion of one film she has recently made and another film, about Linda Lovelace, will be put on hold until she is off probation. She is still in pretty good demand.
You say on your most recent tweet:
"25 followers already thx guys! Meanwhile Jon's playing with his Farmville puppies today. Are the real dogs still in a kenal waiting?"
Since it's in big, bold letters, you may want to correct the spelling to k-e-n-N-E-l. A degree in Journalism...I doubt that.
Lindsay Lohan (not to get into a whole discussion of Lindsay Lohan here)....developed career problems even before her legal problems...and even back when rumors of possible alcoholism and drug abuse were getting around.
But I certainly wouldn't say that her career has been booming commensurate with the amount of attention and press she's gotten over the past few years. She had a fantastic future and at this point, it has definitely not been anything close to fantastic.
I think that there are many examples of situations where media attention had not necessarily led to successful careers....and vice-versa, in fact. There are those like Robert DiNiro and Meryl Streep who have managed to stay out of the headlines and have had very successful careers. And then we have ones like Tara Reid or Britney Spears (or LL) where, IMO, media attention did not increase their career success....at least not at the time they were getting all the attention/press. I think that Lindsay would have had a MUCH more successful career had she not gotten so much bad press.
Thanks for pointing that out! I'm a horrible speller. Make fun of me all you want because I'm a bad speller I admit it. I remember third grade crying after studying all night for a spelling test only to fail it. It's not my forte. I think I managed to do all right for myself despite a problem with memorizing the complicated and often counterintuitive rules of the english language if I do say so myself. Journalists have copyeditors because journalists are often writing quickly to meet a deadline and do their best but it's not perfect. I had copyeditors who went through all my stuff when I was a journalist, thank goodness. And also this was written quickly from my blackberry, when the letters are 2 mm wide and you're using your thumbs, see how well you spell.
And also, please everyone review rule 2 because I've spent the better part of the day deleting snotty little posts.
This may be indicative of us young folks who grew up with auto spelling and grammar correct, as I did. There was never a need to spend time studying spelling if Word would correct it for you instantly. I suspect maybe some bitterness you always had to thumb through a dictionary at my age?? ha.
Anyway, I spent time on other things that were more important to me, like my music the jazz band I was in, and preparing for college and law school. I admire anyone that chooses to spend all their time learning how to spell and then trolling around the internet correcting everyone else's spelling. Good for you the world needs more people correcting others.
no clue what's going on. been busy with any of my 17 hobbies - today: writing a review of Al Walentis' book. I type a lot, but I hate composing! It's posted and awaiting amazon's approval.
I need backstory on Ellen - is there a FAQ? ;-) Suddenly she was just there...
Did some tweeting at Jon last night and got a few replies. Love the way he's gotten past not getting verified - the profile pic - but was trying to figure out why he wasn't verified. Got a few replies. Saved them for posterity.
Also Scott's publicist was tweeting and that was very odd - he rarely does. last night 3 times.
Also following the TCA press tour and spending time with the duck and the bunny.
Twitterer: What you said was "Don't knock it till you've tried it." How many meanings could that possibly have? Seems pretty clear to me! :-)
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You said others find it enjoyable. I said the same thing, which means we are in agreement!
We grew up in different eras. When I went to school, we had to learn the 3 Rs in order to graduate and get into college. We had no spell check, or political correctness pointing out that children who couldn't spell, for example, shouldn't be penalized. Bad for the ego and all that. We couldn't use calculators for math either, so we actually had to learn to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
Now days spelling and grammar aren't stressed and the only people who actually notice are those who had it pounded into their heads how important it was to be able to spell and speak properly. Maybe chemists don’t even need to know anything about formulas what with the internet and Google.
There are still people roaming the earth who know the difference between "me and her" and "she and I" and can compose a letter or headline with proper grammar and containing no glaring spelling errors.
For a couple thousand years, the written word, beautifully composed was revered and appreciated in poetry and novels but with the advent of texting and expressing oneself in 140 characters or less, spelling and grammar aren't as important anymore.
You’ll fit right in.
I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, well said. But most people I know who happen to be older than me don't go around rubbing it in my face what was important to them when they were my age. It is childish, ironically, to come on here and correct people's spelling like you are some hot shot--that's why I put it in rule numebr 2. Does it make people feel better about themselves to do that? Who knows. Just as I don't go around rubbing it in their face that I'm better at computers than these super spellers. I have all the respect in the world for older generations, one of my big interests was elder law but that's largely a pro bono area these days with strapped budgets and I have to eat. Maybe someday. I'd love to have some sort of clinic that takes walk ins for issues with social security, Medicare, etc. Free.
These people may be better at spelling. I'm better at computers, my blackberry, etc. Arguably that's more important today. I'm sure older people lamented the good ole days when you were young just as they do now. And I'm sure you found it irritating when you were young, as I certainly do.
Most bosses like an employee these days to be able to quickly and easily learn the firm computer systems. It's not an issue for the young people in my firm, but I see others really struggling and wasting a lot of time. No one has ever asked me to spell something. And now that I'm much older, it simply not a good use of my time to go back and try to learn it all over again when I never could in the first place and when there are many other things going on in my life like family and friends that are my priority. No one who has ever loved me asked me to spell something either.
I'm sure if this was 1920 my hands would be very raw for having trouble with the three Rs. Thank goodness my teachers steered me in directions I WAS good at, I owe them everything.
Good books are still being written by the way despite the era of the dreaded text messages. Blindness is one. The Road another.
Many books that came out generations ago were criticized at the time and are now considered classics.
Administrator said...
I'm sure that has a lot to do with it, well said. But most people I know who happen to be older than me don't go around rubbing it in my face what was important to them when they were my age. It is childish, ironically, to come on here and correct people's spelling like you are some hot shot--that's why I put it in rule numebr 2. Does it make people feel better about themselves to do that? Who knows. Just as I don't go around rubbing it in their face that I'm better at computers than these super spellers. I have all the respect in the world for older generations, one of my big interests was elder law but that's largely a pro bono area these days with strapped budgets and I have to eat. Maybe someday. I'd love to have some sort of clinic that takes walk ins for issues with social security, Medicare, etc. Free.
These people may be better at spelling. I'm better at computers, my blackberry, etc. Arguably that's more important today. I'm sure older people lamented the good ole days when you were young just as they do now. And I'm sure you found it irritating when you were young, as I certainly do.
Most bosses like an employee these days to be able to quickly and easily learn the firm computer systems. It's not an issue for the young people in my firm, but I see others really struggling and wasting a lot of time. No one has ever asked me to spell something. And now that I'm much older, it simply not a good use of my time to go back and try to learn it all over again when I never could in the first place and when there are many other things going on in my life like family and friends that are my priority. No one who has ever loved me asked me to spell something either.
I'm sure if this was 1920 my hands would be very raw for having trouble with the three Rs. Thank goodness my teachers steered me in directions I WAS good at, I owe them everything.
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Why do you assume that your "better" at computers than those who are older than you? I'm guessing that I have about 20 years on you, I'm an excellent speller and I know a thing or two about computers. I'm pretty handy with my Blackberry as well. You may well be "better," I have no idea. I do know that shouldn't be assuming as much.
Good points.
Your focus is the business world. Mine has always been the arts. Most of my friends are artists of one kind or another and one of my best friends has just completed writing her first novel.
I'm not elderly yet, turning 60 in a few months. You don't have to go back to the 20s to find people who were properly educated.
My mother loved me and also wanted me to be able to spell and write coherently. My husband loved me and asked me constantly how to spell the words he couldn't.
Oy, that should be "why do you that you're better..."?
"Why do you assume that your "better" at computers than those who are older than you? I'm guessing that I have about 20 years on you, I'm an excellent speller and I know a thing or two about computers. I'm pretty handy with my Blackberry as well. You may well be "better," I have no idea. I do know that shouldn't be assuming as much. "
That's a good point as well. I should have mentioned in my reply to Admin just now, that I'm older than she and am very comfortable around computers having learned when you had to know some BASIC as well as DOS commands.
Well depends on how you define properly educated.
Maybe it's not the best use of time to drill, drill, drill kids on spelling. What does raw memorization of something accomplish if you don't understand why things are the way they are? And what good does it do to know how to compose a letter you will never write if you don't develop and nurture your creative side to be able to write beautifully in the first place?
For instance a lot of our words are based on other languages, maybe my time was much better spent in the several years of Spanish I took--I know it was as I now use it every day, whereas the only time I really use spelling is when people are lambasting me for it on this blog because they are out of ideas as to how to refute us on the real issues here so they have to attack the spelling I guess. Well attack us on spelling all day long, doesn't change the fact that Kate is and always has exploited her kids!
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic may have done for someone whose only options at the time were to be a teacher or a secretery, but wouldn't help much a young woman much today who is interested in any variety of careers including doctors, lawyers, engineers whose colleges are going to be looking for AP classes in things like science, math, and history. But that is a debate about what is a good education, which everyone I'm sure has a strong opinion on.
Not all people are, of course, bad with computers. It was a generalization! My grandfather is 80 and when email was becoming hot he realized that his grandchildren were more likely than not to use that to communicate. He and my grandmother took a computer class and learned how to do it. Now he emails more than anyone else. He refused to let himself get left behind.
The point being what was important to people of different generations may not be important to generations now. But we can all respect what was important to each of us depending on our generation. Coming here just to criticize spelling is just rude.
"There are still people roaming the earth who know the difference between "me and her" and "she and I" and can compose a letter or headline with proper grammar and containing no glaring spelling errors."
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Amen, and thank goodness for that! I was a college English professor, and many times had nightmares about the lack of grammar and spelling skills among so many students. The sad thing is that so many of these kids were English majors who wanted to be teachers. How could they teach others when they themselves were without basic language skills? When they became teachers, it was the proverbial case of the blind leading the blind.
The same is true for skills in math. Ask clerks to make change WITHOUT the computer register telling them the correct amount to give a customer. They can't do it! Our power here was off during a storm last week. I made a purchase of $3.56 at a convenience store (big spender, I know). I gave the clerk a five dollar bill. Since there was no power, the registers were open, but unable to do the calculations. I had to tell her how much change to give me. This was a person I know. She's a rising junior in college.
I noticed Admin's spelling difficulties, and problems with grammar and usage, and figured she was one of those who grew up with spelling and grammar check. It's mind boggling (and disappointing) that colleges award degrees to students who cannot write a basic college paper without relying on the help of electronic correction software. I've seen papers, written by college seniors, that were no better (and sometimes worse) than the material produced by students in middle school.
It's a sign of the times. In a perfect world, we'd get back to learning the basics of which Anon writes. Sadly, though, I fear it's only going to get worse. Sometimes, as Thomas Wolfe says, you can't go home again. You can only move on, and for some, that means depending on a computer to do the spelling (and grammar) for them.
Well, maybe all those kids who aren't being drilled in spelling all day long will find more time to cure cancer. Society just continues to make extraordinary advances somehow despite older generations lamenting how "sad" it is that a child is no longer educated to write a letter the way THEY were. Lol.
Also keep in mind there is a difference between typos and truly not understanding or knowing how to do something. I might write "their" once in awhile when I meant "they're" or "there", but it's because I'm going fast and not proofreading. Obviously, I managed to learn the differences and would never submit a legal document with an error like that, I hope. Hopefully no one is tearing THEIR hair out thinking my god she doesn't know the difference! Speaking of assuming, why would you ASSUME an error is because someone wasn't educated rather than just simple human typos?
I don't write my own letters, I would never be able to carry a caseload of 300 and give people the proper service they need if I had to spend all my time writing letters. My clients need their attorney on the phone with them or in court guiding them through their case, not slaving over a letter. Some of my clients don't even read very well and many don't speak English, most of them are still good people who are making their way and working hard. I have a wonderful assistant who just somehow knows exactly what I always need and then does it. She writes the letter which is lucky for me. I must confess I kind of wanted a job where I could focus more on being in the trenches then sitting in an office writing letters. To each his own.
Lately, I have been wondering whether this generation would be able to find where they were going, if they were lost, without a GPS.
There are many things that we used to do the "hard way" or "by hand"....adding, subtracting...even figuring out where you were going if you were driving.....being able to figure out how to get yourself un-lost.
But then the generation before ours knew how to do many things that became lost arts to us....quilting, canning/preserving, etc.
I think it's to be expected as technology improves. What fascinates me is whether or not this generation could actually do any of these things WITHOUT the calculators, the GPS in their vehicles, etc.
Maybe it's not the best use of time to drill, drill, drill kids on spelling. What does raw memorization of something accomplish if you don't understand why things are the way they are?
I can understand and agree with that when it comes to learning history, for example. What’s the use of learning dates without the knowledge of what happened on that date and its significance? But spelling and grammar were the basics upon which our communication depended, and there were no variables or whys and wherefores, one way was correct and one way was incorrect. The same with math. I don’t know how else one could learn those things without having to drill and memorize. I think laziness has a lot to do with children not learning the basics these day, and there is no encouragement coming from either the parents or the educational system.
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic may have done for someone whose only options at the time were to be a teacher or a secretery, but wouldn't help much a young woman much today who is interested in any variety of careers including doctors, lawyers, engineers whose colleges are going to be looking for AP classes in things like science, math, and history. But that is a debate about what is a good education, which everyone I'm sure has a strong opinion on.
I find it difficult to believe students can apply themselves to science, math and history and not be able to learn or feel any need to also master grammar and spelling. The women of my generation were the ones who were the first to assert themselves in the workforce, the ones who put their children in daycare centers and went for the career. They could spell and write coherently.
All This Is That, very well stated. I couldn't agree more.
Well, maybe all those kids who aren't being drilled in spelling all day long will find more time to cure cancer.
Who said anything about being drilled in spelling ALL DAY?
Speaking of assuming, why would you ASSUME an error is because someone wasn't educated rather than just simple human typos?
In my case, it comes from observing many occasions where errors have been made not just one time.
She writes the letter which is lucky for me. I must confess I kind of wanted a job where I could focus more on being in the trenches then sitting in an office writing letters. To each his own.
Yes, to each his own. Why do both when it's not necessary.
BTW, I appreciate the work you do for those who are not well off or are not familiar with our justice system and/or are uneducated. You and they are lucky you have able assistants.
I'm not lazy. And I think I write coherently. People keep coming back here, they must be understanding me! It's not perfect but this is a blog and I'm not proofreading it. No one here has ever read a writ or brief I wrote. No one really has seen a professional document to cast judgement on my abilities as a writer.
You can learn spelling by learning roots from other languages. That doesn't involve a lot of drilling. Drilling is one way to learn spelling that did not work for me. Roots may have worked for a student like me as I did not respond to raw memorization but rather had to understand why and how something worked to be able to commit it to memory--my brain is tailor made for law.
Students should be taught the basics and should be able to write of course, but there is much more to learn these days and there is a shift now away from drills and onto more substantive things. American History keeps getting longer. We spent two months on history post 1945....my grandfather never had to learn that as it wasn't 1945 yet when he was a boy. I also had a computer class, numerous AP classes, graded gym class, home economics, Technology (the PC way of saying SHOP class), Economics, Psychology, music theory class, choir, jazz band, regular band--all subjects my grandfather never had. If we want our kids to know and be experts in all of these things, there is going to be a little lag elsewhere. When I was a nanny it was astounding to me the amount of homework young children were given just to keep up. My grandfather never got homework, my mother had homework starting in high school, and I had homework starting in middle school. Now kids have to do homework all through elementery school just to learn all these things. If it's the difference between a few moments to relax for a kid after doing homework for hours, or drilling him in spelling, I'm going to let him relax. Poor kid.
Do not assume students are lazy because their spelling has mistakes. My education did not involve a moment of laziness. I worked my butt off to get where I am. Everyone around me was working just as hard. I never once met a lazy person in law school. You don't GET to law school by being lazy. And students I have seen today are working harder than I ever did in elementery school alone.
I'm a compulsive person when it comes to spelling. If I don't know how to spell a word, I grab the old fashioned dictionary that sits on my desk. I don't bother with spell-check.
It's far too techno for me! (Typos happen even
with the best of spellers, however.)
I hate misspelled words. I simply hate them.
That said, the purpose of writing is to communicate. If a misspelled word can be grasped in context, then I am still able to discern the meaning of the sentence. If you can still let me know what you are trying to say, that's all I can ask of you.
It's run-on sentences, lack of punctuation and misuse of words that drive me absolutely nuts.
I lose the whole gist of the thought if I have to unscramble it and conjugate it. Sometimes I have to read things two or three times to figure out what the heck somebody is saying.
Give me misspelled words over that any day of the week!
" don't GET to law school by being lazy."
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That's not always true. My ex is an attorney, a Harvard grad, and lazy. He's just very, very intelligent (and a top-notch prosecutor with many years of private practice under his belt). But, alas, he's as lazy as lazy gets. With his brains, however, he was able not only to GET to law school, but sail right through.
Admin, I'm glad you're such an advocate for our educational system. You almost make me forget that we're getting our butts kicked by the Japanese and Chinese in that department. Of course their school day is longer and they don't have nearly the number of days off our kids have these days, far more than I had. And, honestly, it could be my imagination that so many doctors are practicing medicine here that were educated in other countries.
But we don't need to go there. I've enjoyed a conversation here that wasn't about Kate Gosselin.
Administrator said...
Well depends on how you define properly educated.
Maybe it's not the best use of time to drill, drill, drill kids on spelling. What does raw memorization of something accomplish if you don't understand why things are the way they are? And what good does it do to know how to compose a letter you will never write if you don't develop and nurture your creative side to be able to write beautifully in the first place?
For instance a lot of our words are based on other languages, maybe my time was much better spent in the several years of Spanish I took--I know it was as I now use it every day, whereas the only time I really use spelling is when people are lambasting me for it on this blog because they are out of ideas as to how to refute us on the real issues here so they have to attack the spelling I guess. Well attack us on spelling all day long, doesn't change the fact that Kate is and always has exploited her kids!
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic may have done for someone whose only options at the time were to be a teacher or a secretery, but wouldn't help much a young woman much today who is interested in any variety of careers including doctors, lawyers, engineers whose colleges are going to be looking for AP classes in things like science, math, and history. But that is a debate about what is a good education, which everyone I'm sure has a strong opinion on.
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You are again making assumptions. Education is not either/or. I took Spanish from the 3rd grade into college and still managed to learn to spell. To justify your inability to spell, you are trying to make the flawed argument that you are more well-rounded. I also played sports, learned the piano, etc., etc. You might think spelling and grammar meaningless, but you are wrong. You lose respect when you cannot communicate effectively, and proper spelling and grammar are communication skills.
Hopefully no one is tearing THEIR hair out thinking my god she doesn't know the difference! Speaking of assuming, why would you ASSUME an error is because someone wasn't educated rather than just simple human typos?
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The word that started this discussion was kennel, which you spelled kenal. Please don't try to claim that was a typo due to typing on your Blackberry. You didn't know how to spell a basic word.
Why do those doctors come here? Because we have the best medical care in the world, the best hospitals in the world. That didn't happen by magic. We don't go to India to work in their hospitals unless you're Doctors Without Borders. They come here because it's the best here.
When I was very ill this year and they didn't know what was wrong with me (stomach cancer was thrown out there), I thanked my lucky stars I was not only in the U.S. but in L.A. where I found the best GI doctor I could hope to find. Three months ago I just had this feeling something was horribly, terribly wrong and that my life was going to change forever. I thought maybe I would have to get a feeding tube just to eat. I was on sick leave from work. My GI quickly found a bad bacteria in my stomach, got me on the right meds, and I'm now feeling wonderful. Thank you, doc.
I'm not exactly an advocate for our educational system, I think it is far too test based at the moment. But I don't think it's any worse than what it was generations ago, it's different but no worse. It did get me to where I am.
Japan also has the highest student suicide rate. I enjoy a discussion about something other than the Gosselins too, and I especially enjoy it when people are behaving like adults not snotty kids!
Firefox has automatic spell-check in the browser. If there is a red line under it, it's spelled wrong. Right click for suggestions.
"Old People" could be skilled in grammar and computers. Some of us have been on computers since the days of floppy disks.
You lose respect when you cannot communicate effectively, and proper spelling and grammar are communication skills.
That certainly has been my point. I'm just wondering if it doesn't matter that much anymore. Once everyone born after 1960 is gone maybe it just won't be a consideration at all.
Why do those doctors come here? Because we have the best medical care in the world, the best hospitals in the world. That didn't happen by magic. We don't go to India to work in their hospitals unless you're Doctors Without Borders. They come here because it's the best here.
I'm not talking about why they come here. I'm talking about why they're hired, and in such large numbers. They're competing with American doctors and are getting jobs in increasing numbers.
I knew you'd mention the high suicide rate in Japan, but I'm sure you've noticed ours is creeping up, too. Japanese kids are pressured to succeed. Our kids aren't pressured as much, so why more suicides? Drugs is my guess.
Do you know what doesn't work for me? The constant attacking of this blog's administrator.
I was born after 1960 and I care about grammar and spelling.
Drugs were a problem in the 70's too. Teen pregnancy rates have gone down.
But we can't disregard the rate of brilliant doctors to the general population. For every 100,000 people in India there may emerge one brilliant doctor who manages to overcome a bad education system. But for every maybe 6,000 in the U.S. a doctor emerges because of the opportunities here.
People look around and say oh look at all the Indian doctors the Indians are so smart they are sending all their doctors here. When the reality is there is only a fraction of a fraction of these doctors who manages to come out of India and manages to get to the U.S. who is competing, whereas there might be many more not as good Indian doctors with the right education could have been doctors, but because of their circumstances, are brick layers.
I want the smartest doctor on my side when it comes down to it, whether that doctor is Indian or American. The bottom line is they are going to hire the doctor with the most talent. I don't want them hiring Americans just to hire Americans. We should hire THE BEST no matter where you are from. My GI doctor was, incidentally, Indian. My GP is American. They are both brilliant, I feel I owe them my life and happiness for helping me through these past 6 months of hell.
BTW, thanks Theresa. I do feel a bit attacked. Maybe we should all go around and say what you are bad at and could I please spend weeks picking on you for it? It does hurt. I am a person and I have feelings. If you think a spelling error is such a huge problem, diminishes "credibility" why are you still here??? Why do you have to come here and say this over and over and over. It's obviously not a problem for you if you're still here. And I've seen my hits, I'm doing just fine, so if it's a problem for you, I don't need you.
TheresaB, believe me, I understand the "pack mentality" with regard to blogs. The leader of the pack is attacked, and where will that leave you?
There IS an intelligent discussion going on here for a change. You're more than welcome to share your opinions.
Where does it leave me if the blog admin. is attacked? The same place I was before she was attacked. I read and post here. I trust her. I enjoy the posters here and most the comments.
Since Admin spelled Kennel wrong ... yeah, I'm having 2nd thoughts. (eye roll)
Spelling and Grammar, if I've lost your respect why are you here? You sound perfect. I wish I could be like you. You are good at everything according to you. Is there nothing you can't do?
I'm getting punchy, I may have to moderate.
>That certainly has been my point. I'm just wondering if it doesn't matter that much anymore. Once everyone born after 1960 is gone maybe it just won't be a consideration at all.
I think you might have meant *before* 1960. :-)
As for Twitter - the character restrictions sometimes push me into typing in "text" - which I hate - but sometimes, you have to make it fit.
I like the insights and the feedback. If I'm watching a TV show and I like or dislike something in particular (or have a question) I can often tweet/twitter at the writer of the episode or the person who is in charge of the show and every now and then, they might even answer. This past week I've been watching the television critics association press tour (and last week, ComicCon) via the tweets of the people who are there. When I saw a flashback to 1982 on Grey's Anatomy, and they were using glass IV bottles, I was able to track down a nurse who could tell me when they stopped using glass bottles. (way before 1982) Is that trivial? Sure. Twitter's good for all kinds of things. I see there's a tropical disturbance in the Carribean. That might become important. Also, my friend Laura went to a wedding today.
"I think laziness has a lot to do with children not learning the basics these day, and there is no encouragement coming from either the parents or the educational system."
I believe that laziness is only a small part of the problem. I expressed my concern that many of today's teachers, in the educational system for only a handful of years, do not know the basic rules of grammar and therefore cannot instruct their young students accordingly. Even if the student has the ability and desire to learn, he's not going to develop those skills under the guidance of a teacher who simply doesn't know those rules of grammar himself.
A fellow professor of an advanced college writing course once showed me an essay written by a college senior who was majoring in English. It is without exaggeration that I say that the paper was on the writing level of a third or fourth grader. If no progress in writing was made throughout the student's high school years, how was that student able to get to college, much less declare English as his major? Is it because our public school system buries its neck in the sand, passing these students from one grade to the next without having the student repeat a year? Is this because of under-funding and over-crowding? By the time the student reaches eleventh and twelve grades, it's too late...he should already have learned the basic skills in elementary school.
Therefore, the student simply graduates with the rest of his peers, goes on to college where professors recognize that the student cannot write a paper free of spelling and grammar mistakes. At that point, though, what are they going to do with that student? Not graduate him because he's still writing on an elementary school level? It doesn't happen. He graduates with the rest of his class, and unfortunately becomes a teacher who doesn't know the basic skills himself.
The vicious cycle starts all over again, and this young teacher's students find themselves without someone to guide them in matters of correct usage and spelling. The kids may very well be willing and able to learn, and not the least bit lazy. However, who is going to teach them?
We're back to square one.
Don't get me wrong. Not all teachers shoulder the blame. There are a world of dedicated educators out there who struggle to make a difference in the lives of their students. An excellent book to read on the teaching of writing in the educational system is Mike Rose's "Lives on the Boundary." It's an eye-opener.
Admin, I wanted to ask you something. A couple of blogs I was reading, indicated on their visitor counter, it showed "The Discovery Channel" came to thier sites. Do you have this same capability to see who the visitors are?
>A fellow professor of an advanced college writing course once showed me an essay written by a college senior who was majoring in English. It is without exaggeration that I say that the paper was on the writing level of a third or fourth grader. If no progress in writing was made throughout the student's high school years, how was that student able to get to college, much less declare English as his major?
I have a friend with a kid in college. Community College. He's taking classes to get his math and writing skills up to college level. So either this was a while ago or... I don't know. I just know that apparently community colleges do teach Remedial High School Writing. (and for bonus points, my utter abhorrance of having to "compose" is (one of the two) reasons I didn't go to college.)
I just went through all of the posts on the pros and cons of the spelling episodes and couldn't help but smile. At age eight, in 1940, I had read all of the Alcott books, but I couldn't spell! I studied for the tests, but seldom ever made 100%.
It wasn't until many years later that I learned that there are two types of spellers--natural and those like me. It has something to do with the way the mind receives images, but nothing to do with IQ!!
As an avid reader, I should have been a good speller, but in my case it wasn't so! Despite my spelling, I did manage to complete college and grad school and teach for 30 years. I saw the spelling problem come about in each classroom...there were the ones who never had to study their words, and were natural spellers, and those like me that always struggled!
As soon as I began teaching, I knew that spelling was of utmost importance in correcting papers, sending home notes, etc. so I became good friends with my dictionary! For the past 20 years I have enjoyed spell check! What a wonderful invention!
My pet peeve is people who don't use "their, there, they're" properly!
Having just turned 78, I have a blog and facebook, but I draw the line at twittering!! I get tired of learning all of this new stuff!
One comment, I have been an advocate for Jon, but this twittering has really griped me!! Gosh, what 30 something man has time to sit and twitter all day! I lost a lot of respect over that one....however, I still like to see the wonderful smiles on the faces of the children when they are with their dad!
"I think laziness has a lot to do with children not learning the basics these day, and there is no encouragement coming from either the parents or the educational system."
I believe that laziness is only a small part of the problem. I expressed my concern that many of today's teachers, in the educational system for only a handful of years, do not know the basic rules of grammar and therefore cannot instruct their young students accordingly. Even if the student has the ability and desire to learn, he's not going to develop those skills under the guidance of a teacher who simply doesn't know those rules of grammar himself.
A fellow professor of an advanced college writing course once showed me an essay written by a college senior who was majoring in English. It is without exaggeration that I say that the paper was on the writing level of a third or fourth grader. If no progress in writing was made throughout the student's high school years, how was that student able to get to college, much less declare English as his major? Is it because our public school system buries its neck in the sand, passing these students from one grade to the next without having the student repeat a year? Is this because of under-funding and over-crowding? By the time the student reaches eleventh and twelve grades, it's too late...he should already have learned the basic skills in elementary school.
Therefore, the student simply graduates with the rest of his peers, goes on to college where professors recognize that the student cannot write a paper free of spelling and grammar mistakes. At that point, though, what are they going to do with that student? Not graduate him because he's still writing on an elementary school level? It doesn't happen. He graduates with the rest of his class, and unfortunately becomes a teacher who doesn't know the basic skills himself.
The vicious cycle starts all over again, and this young teacher's students find themselves without someone to guide them in matters of correct usage and spelling. The kids may very well be willing and able to learn, and not the least bit lazy. However, who is going to teach them?
We're back to square one.
Don't get me wrong. Not all teachers shoulder the blame. There are a world of dedicated educators out there who struggle to make a difference in the lives of their students. An excellent book to read on the teaching of writing in the educational system is Mike Rose's "Lives on the Boundary." It's an eye-opener.
Spelling and Grammar, if I've lost your respect why are you here? You sound perfect. I wish I could be like you. You are good at everything according to you. Is there nothing you can't do?
I'm getting punchy, I may have to moderate.
Lindsay Lohan (not to get into a whole discussion of Lindsay Lohan here)....developed career problems even before her legal problems...and even back when rumors of possible alcoholism and drug abuse were getting around.
But I certainly wouldn't say that her career has been booming commensurate with the amount of attention and press she's gotten over the past few years. She had a fantastic future and at this point, it has definitely not been anything close to fantastic.
I think that there are many examples of situations where media attention had not necessarily led to successful careers....and vice-versa, in fact. There are those like Robert DiNiro and Meryl Streep who have managed to stay out of the headlines and have had very successful careers. And then we have ones like Tara Reid or Britney Spears (or LL) where, IMO, media attention did not increase their career success....at least not at the time they were getting all the attention/press. I think that Lindsay would have had a MUCH more successful career had she not gotten so much bad press.
Drugs were a problem in the 70's too. Teen pregnancy rates have gone down.
But we can't disregard the rate of brilliant doctors to the general population. For every 100,000 people in India there may emerge one brilliant doctor who manages to overcome a bad education system. But for every maybe 6,000 in the U.S. a doctor emerges because of the opportunities here.
People look around and say oh look at all the Indian doctors the Indians are so smart they are sending all their doctors here. When the reality is there is only a fraction of a fraction of these doctors who manages to come out of India and manages to get to the U.S. who is competing, whereas there might be many more not as good Indian doctors with the right education could have been doctors, but because of their circumstances, are brick layers.
I want the smartest doctor on my side when it comes down to it, whether that doctor is Indian or American. The bottom line is they are going to hire the doctor with the most talent. I don't want them hiring Americans just to hire Americans. We should hire THE BEST no matter where you are from. My GI doctor was, incidentally, Indian. My GP is American. They are both brilliant, I feel I owe them my life and happiness for helping me through these past 6 months of hell.
BTW, thanks Theresa. I do feel a bit attacked. Maybe we should all go around and say what you are bad at and could I please spend weeks picking on you for it? It does hurt. I am a person and I have feelings. If you think a spelling error is such a huge problem, diminishes "credibility" why are you still here??? Why do you have to come here and say this over and over and over. It's obviously not a problem for you if you're still here. And I've seen my hits, I'm doing just fine, so if it's a problem for you, I don't need you.
Firefox has automatic spell-check in the browser. If there is a red line under it, it's spelled wrong. Right click for suggestions.
"Old People" could be skilled in grammar and computers. Some of us have been on computers since the days of floppy disks.
Hopefully no one is tearing THEIR hair out thinking my god she doesn't know the difference! Speaking of assuming, why would you ASSUME an error is because someone wasn't educated rather than just simple human typos?
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The word that started this discussion was kennel, which you spelled kenal. Please don't try to claim that was a typo due to typing on your Blackberry. You didn't know how to spell a basic word.
Anonymous said... "I felt sick. By being moderately "obsessed" with this saga, I've encouraged someone who never heard of K8 to watch her."
Yes that is exactly what happens. All the blogging creates curiosity. That's why the anti-kate bloggers are called enablers.
I won't be tweeting, I've already done enough damage. I came home frome work last night and my bf was WATCHING K+8 re-runs. Told me I talk about the plight of the G8 and that he needed to see for himself.
I felt sick. By being moderately "obsessed" with this saga, I've encouraged someone who never heard of K8 to watch her.
Gag.
Maybe it's damned if you do and damned if you don't.
melissaf
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