Inventive Spelling Being Used Here — And That’s Okay (I Think)

When one of our reporters did a story on the most recent meeting of what was originally called the District 18 Community School Board but is now known as the Community Education Council (CEC), a controversial subject arose that piqued my interest considerably. So much that I had to admit my ignorance (generally, not too tough a job) on the topic.

Have you ever heard of inventive spelling?

My own ignorance of the topic came about recently — to my chagrin — when our reporter, Delia Bray, covered the meeting of the CEC and noted that two members of the board were unduly upset after having taken a tour of some of our district schools and saw bulletin boards in the hallways displaying student papers filled with obvious grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes. The revelation even prompted CEC President James Dandridge to exclaim, “They are actually showcasing work that is incorrect.”

Well, not exactly. What they’re doing is showcasing the thoughts of the youngsters who wrote the essays.

And there is where the controversy comes in. Yes, there is such a thing as inventive spelling. I have talked with a number of teachers and administrators who, admittedly, find the process “disturbing,” according to a few, and “crazy,” according to others. And there are those who, when asked about it, say, “well...some like it, some don’t,” which really left me on the brink of...you guessed it...a controversy.

Obviously there are a few schools of thought.

First, we have to define it: Inventive spelling refers to the practice of encouraging beginning readers to write any way they want. The idea, according to the Lingualinks Library and research from the National Right to Read Foundation, is that, for the beginner, the act of writing is more important than correctness of form (such as spelling). Eventually, say proponents, the student will learn and use the correct form. They say the process encourages learners to produce their own creative writing patterns and experiment with letters and shapes without being expected to follow conventional rules. They also note that the writing, therefore, is “natural, meaningful and spontaneous.”

At first, they say, teachers accept all of the learner’s written material as meaningful writing. As the learners gain more experience by reading books and by exposure to a print environment, they begin to write words more conventionally by using the patterns they see in printed materials and modeled by the teacher.

Now, my first thoughts on hearing of the process was to dismiss it — practically without question. They can’t do this, I deduced. It’s letting a learning child “get away” with not only spelling incorrectly, but it is also showcasing that child’s work on a bulletin board, thus letting him or her be the subject of derision and ridicule.

On the other hand......And I thought about it awhile.

And this is what controversy is made of. It does tell us a few things, you know: Wonder of all wonders, our educators are thinking . They’re actually sitting back and trying to find methods of teaching that will set our children to learning; that will encourage them to think . It is true that some of the methods may not work — but the point is that teachers and education administrators do have the interests of students in mind, and that, while we’re deriding them and trying to keep on their backs to keep up with the times, they’re experimenting . And this is good (and don’t give me that “I don’t want them to experiment with my child” business). Their intention is to see that the child learns. It’s obvious that the inventing spelling process won’t work on every child or every learner; but the teachers are trying a number of new methods in many categories, from reading to math.

Delia Bray talked to Gloria Buckery, superintendent for Region 6, who said that, as far as inventive spelling goes, children might be using the process to “get their point across.”

“In grades one and two, phonetic spelling might be acceptable,” she told the reporter. “In grades three and four, the teacher would expect more; and in grades five and six, the requirements would be higher.” By middle school, she said, the work displayed on a bulletin board should be perfect or near perfect. She did not say which schools in Region 6 use the method. However, a Department of Education spokesperson told me that the process is used mostly with pre-K to third-graders, with the eventual outcome for the children to “write and communicate effectively.”

Bray said that, when asked about other children seeing the errors on the bulletin boards, Buckery said, “The children are taught that not everyone is perfect and to expect that work that is hung up will have mistakes; that other children make mistakes.”

Then there are those who say their kids will never learn to spell if they aren’t taught from the get-go...just like they were when they were elementary school students.

Inventive spelling. Good or bad? Educators are trying. Both sides have a point. That’s what makes it controversial