Spellin', Writin', N Textin'

Mr. C has commented on the "drive thru" that is open "late nites". He wanted to know why the restaurant would spell the words wrong. And if they could, then why does he have to practice his spelling words for school. What do you tell a kid? I usually say those people are lazy idiots and if you don't want to be one then you need to learn how to spell properly. I almost always add that I'm just joking and they are spelling things wrong to get your attention--look how well it worked!

I am slowly beginning to pick up on texting--a necessity for staying in touch with teenagers--but I refuse to pick up the asinine abbreviations like: C U L8r for See you later. I am glad that my girls also text with complete words and proper spelling. They have told me that they really don't know anyone who uses that texting shorthand because everyone has a full keyboard on their phones now. Thank goodness for that.


I want to end this post with something that goes along with the one I wrote about different dialects and vocabulary. One more word that I want to mention is toboggan. I grew up thinking a toboggan was a type of sled. Down here a toboggan is a knit winter hat. I have no idea how that came about.

Do Midwesterners overuse the word that? I have been editing as I go along and removed several superfluous thats and I still have some in here.

I also want to recognize the one Southern convention that I do try to adhere to: ma'am and sir. This is something that is absolutely necessary to use in the South. I do insist that my students use these words and I try to get my own kids to use them. Not using ma'am and sir is a sure sign of disrespect.

*If I don't post anything for awhile, just know that things around here are crap to the nth degree. Since I don't want to litter this blog up with any bitching and worrying, I'm going to take a break until I can get my emotions back to a better place.