Spelchek

I'm frustrated with the way kids are taught vocabulary (specifically written vocabulary, aka 'spelling'). I think the emphasis is all wrong. Students are pushed to learn more and more difficult words just for the sake of learning more difficult words. Instead, the focus should be on enabling better communication, which is the whole dang point of vocabulary in the first place.

Before learning words like 'disapproval' (tricky to spell but rather unique), one should be able to use both 'loose' and 'lose' (easy to spell, but often confused with each other) correctly. The same goes for to/too, there/their/they're, your/you're, brake/break, and many other word combos (which are often homophones) that people have trouble with. Such errors actually hinder communication. On the other hand, spelling the word 'dissaproval' is relatively harmless, since nobody is likely to confuse it with any word but 'disapproval'.

On a more practical note, current technology makes my stand even stronger. Though I don't advocate the use of technology as a crutch, any word processor (even the basic Blogger editor) will catch simple spelling errors ('dissaproval') but all have trouble with valid words being used in the wrong context ('Don't loose that noose, or I'll brake you're car and take it too the chop shop over their.').