Spellcheck for Dummies
By Marie Anne
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
United States
June 6, 2008 8:49pm CST
Have you ever heard the phrase that your diploma isn't worth the paper it's written on? Check out this story:
[i]WESTLAKE, Ohio - A Cleveland-area principal says he's embarrassed his students got proof of their "educaiton" on their high school diplomas.
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Westlake High School officials misspelled "education" on the diplomas distributed last weekend. It's been the subject of mockery on local radio.
Principal Timothy Freeman says he sent back the diplomas once to correct another error. When the diplomas came back, no one bothered to check things they thought were right the first time.
The publisher has reprinted the diplomas a second time and sent them to the 330 graduates.[/i]
Now that is just sad. How many people read those diplomas before they were handed out? No one looks at the little things anymore, we've come to rely on spellcheck and other shortcuts instead of the basics that should be a part of everyone's EDUCATION. We've grown complacent, and this is the type of thing that happens all too often as a result.
How embarrassing, for that principal, the school, and our educational system as a whole.
Has anything embarrassing like that happened to you?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@terri0824 (5203)
• United States
7 Jun 08
That is a sad shame that a mistake was found on the diploma not once but twice. Words spelled incorrectly are one of my biggest pet peeves and I can spot them right off the bat. Especially it makes me recall one that happened about 12 years ago when the director of the department I work for sent me an email that stated "Be sure to check (t i t s) with supervisors."! Of course he meant THIS and not (T I T S!) We sill get a laugh from it from time to time.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
7 Jun 08
I am almost fanatical about it. It doesn't bother me so much in casual areas, like if I saw a misspelled word here on myLot or somesuch, heck I do it too in my haste, but it's when someone doesn't know HOW to spell a word that is irritating. There is spellcheck (which I never use personally), or online dictionaries if you're not sure. Professional correspondence that has typos absolutely infuriates me, though. If I see typos in a book I'm reading, I'll highlight or circle them, isn't that silly?
I'll be watching Fox News and almost daily there is a typo on the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen.
Things like that just jump out at me, and always have. I've done some proofreading and would love to get back into that, but I'm afraid it would drive me crazy.
1 person likes this
@foxyfire33 (10005)
• United States
8 Jun 08
I had a post here that talked about "shirts"...luckily I looked it over first because right there in the headline, I'd forgotten a very important letter 'r'.
But I can't think of anything major that was actually noticed by anybody.
My neighbor once put a a huge "Congradulation Gratuates" sign on the front of her business, that was kind of funny!
Anyway, that is pretty said that an error like that slipped through. It would be one thing if the printer had misspelled the school name or some of the students' names, but "education" is most definitely a well enough known word (well you'd think it would be) that somebody somewhere would have noticed the mistake.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
8 Jun 08
I think we've all made the sort of mistakes you mention, I know I sure have, and a lot of it right here at myLot! I tend to get going too fast and my finger hits that send button, often right as I see a mistake.
I put this error in an entirely different category and it's inexcusable. How many people proofread those diplomas, to make sure names, etc, were correct? I can't believe a mistake like that got through, especially after a second printing!
