Those who can’t, teach
I confess to being Dyslexic (not even sure if spelt that properly). My ability to spell correctly is rather hampered. I’m writing this post with the aid of a spelling and grammar checker.
But, that said, I WANT to spell correctly and I WANT to be grammatically correct. Many posts I have made, emails and correspondence have taken me an hour or more to write. Because I CARE about what I am saying, most of the time. I don’t want to introduce ambiguity. Even with the help of spell checkers and grammar checkers, I still get it wrong.
However, this Dr. Ken Smith is just a lazy git in my opinion. To advocate misspellings is just wrong. His job it to TEACH! If he finds errors in spelling and grammar, he should highlight them. He is basically saying it’s not his job. Get off your fat arse man and earn your wage! Feel free to criticise schoolteachers for not doing their job well enough.
Thankfully, my reading ability is not nearly as impaired as my spelling and can say that I have enjoyed books from differing extremes of spelling and grammar:
E.R. Eddison; The Worm Ouroboros. Found it hard, but rewarding.
China Miéville; Perdido Street Station, The Scar, Iron Council. Some exquisite use of the English language, sometimes I read paragraphs aloud just for the pleasure of it.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Sherlock Holmes. Again, some beautiful, evocative language, I love passages where Holmes or Watson is reading from a newspaper. It evokes a real ‘taste’ for the period. Plus, if I find a word I don’t understand, I like to look it up and find out about its derivation. To me, this just adds more magic to the story.
Ian M. Banks; Feersum Endjinn. This is the flip side of the coin; the majority of the book is a journal written in a phonetic style. I found this difficult to read for a couple of chapters. But, Banks is consistent, so it became jarring when chapters using correct English were introduced. In the end, I loved it because it created a language that, set in a far future, could be possible, even probable.
The point is, I love these books and many more, in all these cases the authors have a good command of English and use it to different effect. I truly think that these books could not have been created in a climate where indifference to proper spelling was allowed.
I know that my writing will never equal these authors. But, that does not mean I should not endeavour to try my best and admire those who do better.
I have had my fill of teachers like this who told me I'd never amount to anything. This person is just as ignorant as his students.