Spelling

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Spelling
By Kelley

Well, sure, someone in a position such as ours should be able to spell. HOWEVER, I am one of the world's worst spellers. Might I add that I am also an ENGLISH TEACHER? You know what, I refuse to become the type of teacher
that you see in old shows that is the sole authority figure in the classroom. The one that ALWAYS has to be right and always has to be the most intelligent. I am secure enough in myself to know that a simple spelling error does not make me a poor teacher. Spelling is not so much a matter of intelligence, as it is a matter of memorization. More than that, THE KIDS KNOW IT TOO. I

think what you will find is the only ones who care are your peers. With that in mind, I have one tip...Make sure to check and recheck ANYTHING that is in print. That is how you lose credibility among your peers. The kids really don't care, but some of the other teachers take great offense to it. (Especially the older ones)

I am a first year teacher. I KNEW that I was a poor speller and, like you, I was nervous about looking stupid in front of the class. Here is what I did when I started this year. I told the students right off the bat that I was a poor speller. In fact I think that I may have even over-exaggerated it too. This way, the first time I did spell something wrong, they were not shocked and did not make a large issue of it. When I come to a word that I think I may spell incorrectly, I simply pause, and I ask THEM how to spell it. I find that this serves two purposes. First, it helps me to spell it right, and second, it allows the students the chance to feel good about the fact that they may know something that I do not. They love to look “smart” in front of their friends by answering a question correctly, so this is a great feeling for them. Beyond that, by doing this I allow the students the opportunity to correct me just the same as I would correct them. It is all about give and take in education, and this is one way you can seem HUMAN to your students.

WOW...didn't expect this to be so long Hope it helps.