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My son is in fifth grade and about to start middle school. He is a great kid all around, and in terms of school he is dutiful, listens well, is responsible, does his homework, has great friends, and generally does well and gets good grades. He prefers math and science at school over reading and writing, but he does read nightly at home. My question is this: His handwriting and spelling are atrocious. Do I need to spend some time having him work on these things this summer before he starts middle school? His teachers seem to know what he’s saying in spite of the bad handwriting and spelling (analisses for analysis, for example). But I look at his handwriting and spelling myself and shudder. He and I have had conversations about it over the years, but have never made any real concerted effort on either of these fronts since he’s doing well. And with other younger kids to take care of at home, I haven’t had the bandwidth to deal, but maybe it’s time. I’d love your thoughts.
—Trying to Weigh What Matters
Oh, your son reminds me of one of my favorite student writers of all time—he was inventive, and his stories had great structure … and his spelling was 100 percent phonetic. One time he wrote a story about the Revalooshunary War.
As for whether you should work on his spelling and handwriting over the summer, I think it depends. I’m a single mom of twin 4.5-year-olds, one of whom has Down syndrome, and so when you say you don’t have the bandwidth, I get it. Since becoming a mom myself, I’ve relaxed quite a bit my expectations of the academic tasks parents should pursue with their kids. I used to say parents should read with their kids for 20 minutes every night; now I sometimes blow off reading my kids a bedtime story! There are nights when getting their teeth brushed is all I can manage.
Also, it’s going to depend on your son’s middle school environment. Do they use computers for writing tasks? If so, well, that’s what readable fonts and spellcheck are for!
If not, yes, you could try to work with him on it. Here’s my suggestion: Don’t make him wrong. Tell him the way he’s doing it is OK, and you want him to have another tool for his belt. I used to be a strict prescriptive grammarian—there were rules we all must follow; things were correct or incorrect. After reading a lot of books and hearing people’s stories over the last 15 years, my relationship to grammar has changed. I still love studying it and understanding it, but grammar rules are classist, elitist, and ableist. In most instances, as long as you’re getting your point across to your audience, what’s the harm in nonstandard language (or spelling or handwriting)?
That being said, code-switching is a valuable skill, and knowing politically dominant English is an asset. So now I don’t correct my students’ grammar; instead, I tell them, “That’s how you’d say it with your friends, but in this argumentative essay, you need to write it this way.” With your son, you could say, “That’s how you’d write your grocery list—as long as you can read it, who cares? But let’s pretend you’re writing a letter to your congressperson,” and have him practice writing in his best handwriting and using the dictionary to look up the spellings of words.
But again, if it feels like too much for you, just enjoy your summer, and bring it up with his teachers at the beginning of the year. Let them know his specific struggles, and ask them to help. That’s what they’re there for.
—Ms. Scott
—Trying to Weigh What Matters
Oh, your son reminds me of one of my favorite student writers of all time—he was inventive, and his stories had great structure … and his spelling was 100 percent phonetic. One time he wrote a story about the Revalooshunary War.
As for whether you should work on his spelling and handwriting over the summer, I think it depends. I’m a single mom of twin 4.5-year-olds, one of whom has Down syndrome, and so when you say you don’t have the bandwidth, I get it. Since becoming a mom myself, I’ve relaxed quite a bit my expectations of the academic tasks parents should pursue with their kids. I used to say parents should read with their kids for 20 minutes every night; now I sometimes blow off reading my kids a bedtime story! There are nights when getting their teeth brushed is all I can manage.
Also, it’s going to depend on your son’s middle school environment. Do they use computers for writing tasks? If so, well, that’s what readable fonts and spellcheck are for!
If not, yes, you could try to work with him on it. Here’s my suggestion: Don’t make him wrong. Tell him the way he’s doing it is OK, and you want him to have another tool for his belt. I used to be a strict prescriptive grammarian—there were rules we all must follow; things were correct or incorrect. After reading a lot of books and hearing people’s stories over the last 15 years, my relationship to grammar has changed. I still love studying it and understanding it, but grammar rules are classist, elitist, and ableist. In most instances, as long as you’re getting your point across to your audience, what’s the harm in nonstandard language (or spelling or handwriting)?
That being said, code-switching is a valuable skill, and knowing politically dominant English is an asset. So now I don’t correct my students’ grammar; instead, I tell them, “That’s how you’d say it with your friends, but in this argumentative essay, you need to write it this way.” With your son, you could say, “That’s how you’d write your grocery list—as long as you can read it, who cares? But let’s pretend you’re writing a letter to your congressperson,” and have him practice writing in his best handwriting and using the dictionary to look up the spellings of words.
But again, if it feels like too much for you, just enjoy your summer, and bring it up with his teachers at the beginning of the year. Let them know his specific struggles, and ask them to help. That’s what they’re there for.
—Ms. Scott
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