 "Photo: Alex Grandisher")
Is being able to spell really all that important? Of course there are those specific situations where it may be, but in our everyday lives, how often is being able to spell really such an issue? Personally, I didn't even know what a verb was until three weeks ago, and those who have ever read one of my text messages can attest to the fact that my spelling matches my understanding of grammar. That is to say, I suck at spelling. Yet somehow I managed to get into graduate school. How is that even possible?
While I'm not entirely sure why I can't spell, I do know how I managed to get to this point in my life where I don't feel like I really need to worry about spelling. To start with, I don't think I ever got anything higher than a C on a spelling test in elementary school. I'm not really all that sure how I didn't get held back. But somehow I made my way to junior high, where for the most part, anything that had to be written, the teachers wanted us to type it up. From then on, spell check was by far the biggest saving grace to my GPA. The only problem was and still is that if I spell a word right but it's the wrong word, I am screwed.
As we all know, not every grade in college is based on multiple-choice tests or papers we write. So how did I get into grad school? The simple answer is there is no spelling test to get into grad school. All they wanted to see was that I had OK grades and that I got a decent score on the GRE.
There are some down sides to not being able to spell. For instance anytime I have to text a message, send an email, or post a comment on Facebook, I have to have Google near me so I can check the spelling first. In my everyday life, I am constantly asking people how to spell words. Eventually, I just gave up on trying to spell words correctly and have come up with my own spelling for many words (which those who know me well have come to understand). But the occasional email to a professor or advisor does slip where it just looks like a ten-year-old typed the letter.
My point is that in today's technological environment with tools like spell check and auto correct for texting, it's not all that important to be able to spell accurately. Of course if you can't spell at all, you may have an issue. But from my perspective, if you can spell at a fourth-grade level, you should be able to get through life with little issue given today's technology and the formats in which we now produce writings.