Hi Bob,
BA>   How can anyone, teaching early elementary today, question this basic?
  > In my day, we didn't write anything but copy untill perhaps 4th grade,
 I can't remember what I did at an early age that well. I do remember
tracing poems to help us with cursive writing. I also remember winning a
creative writing contest when I was 11 and being given a book by the
Mayor - I still have it.
  > penpal. Is this what people want who argue angainst the use of
  > inventented spelling? When I went to college they didn't know all that
  > much about language acquisition or how it applied to the writing
  > process. Keeping up in the field of education requires people to
  > continued their education as teachers. How can anyone who has done
  > this, or spent any time in the last 10 years in an early educational
  > environment believe that 1 - invented spelling is random
  >                          2 - correct spelling strageties are not taught
Well, I think that most people who are against it are not early
educators and therefore do not understand the process or philosophy,
etc. behind it all.
  >     Keep up the good work. I enjoy reading your posts.
Thanks so much. :)  I've been too tired and too lazy to do much of
anything of late, unfortunately. The weather has been grey and miserable
which doesn't help much. :(
What do you teach?
                -Ruth
BA> BM> DT> There is plenty of research data to show that transitional 
spelling
  > > DT> is natural.  People who don't understand the process are often 
uick
  > > DT> to criticize.
BA> BM> Okay I'll take your word for that if you will cite one research
  > > project that was validated by another independent group of
  > > researchers using exactly the same thing as the original (allowing of
  > > course that a different group of children would be involved).
BA> RL> My professor at University validated the work done by Gentry and
  > RL> others - I don't know if she was published or not because I left
  > RL> University before that. But she showed us examples and invited us to
  > RL> see these things for ourselves. I also tested children over a period 
of
  > RL> time and saw that children do go through these stages of spelling and
  > RL> spell words the same according to what stage they are in. It was
  > RL> amazing - I was so surprised. And even to this day I still see 
children
  > RL> spelling certain words the same - try asking a young child to spell 
the
  > RL> word doctor over a period of time and see what happens...it's very
  > RL> interesting.
BA> RL> One
  > > doesn't have to understand the process to clearly see that it is a
  > > waste of the child's and the teacher's time.  What precisely does it
  > > accomplish?
BA> RL> I'll leave Dan to answer this one as I can't put my
  > RL> feelings/understandings of this into words.
BA> BM> Since you didn't provide a citation I will do a library search before
  > > I send this and let you know if it's available here.  Case studies
  > > are not, BTW, "research" they are merely case studies.
BA> RL> That's interesting - thousands of psychologists would disagree with
  > RL> you...especially my daughter who has been doing qualitative research
  > RL> studies and has presented very successfully  at the International
  > RL> Psychology convention this past summer (and last year).
BA> RL> Maybe you need to clarify what you mean here?
  > RL> -Ruth
  > RL> -!-
  > RL> þ QMPro 1.53 þ Philosopy: the profound grasp of the obvious.
BA> RL>  ! Origin: FidoNet: CAP/CANADA Support BBS : 416 287-0234 (1:250/710)
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R: Worst spell of weather in months!
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