[AT] Fwd: 100 years ago

[pga2 at hot1.net]

Dean,
My father was born in 1911 and did have a good formal education, graduated
from Ohio Stat with a bachelor's degree. He was a bad speller, but knew it and
would either check the dictionary or ask someone if he wasn't sure. My brother
is the same way. Fortunately for me, spelling came easy and I have only a few
problem words that I have to check, mostly technical terms.
Our teachers would notallow us to slack on our schoolwork either. You did it
or you flunked out and repeated the grade. 
I agree wholeheartedly that the requirements should be kept as they are for
U.S. citizenship. It is a privelege worth working to obtain!

Phil

----- Original Message -----
>From    : Dean VP <deanvp at att.net>
Sent    : Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:27:19 -0700
To      : 'Antique tractor email discussion group' <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Subject : RE: [AT] Fwd: 100 years ago

>George:

I too also agree. My father was born in 1903 and did not have much of a
formal education but I can assure you he knew how to spell and did math in
his head that would cause me to look at him in awe. Most of the farmers and
my Dad's peers in our neighbor hood had limited formal education but I can
guarantee you that they would put some of our supposedly educated kids of
today to shame. My only guess as to why this was is they did apply
themselves with what little formal education they did get, their parents
also made damn sure they did and since English was a second language they
were responsible enough to know that as American citizens it was their duty
to do what was needed. I also believe that since the church and religion was
central to their lives that they also were formally educated by that
association as well. 

But I do know they knew the value of formal education and passed on a deep
conviction that the next generation would have a better education
opportunity than they had. There was absolutely no choice about that. 

It appears to me that the responsible parenting and respect for a good
education has deteriorated, in many cases, to the point we just don't care
any more. We graduate kids from high school who cannot spell and who have
not really taken advantage of their educational opportunity. There is a lot
of blame to pass around in this area. And it's not just the kids.

My oldest daughter had a real spelling challenge in JR High and High School.
We really had to work with her and she had to work really hard to get over
the handicap. She now is the most meticulous speller I have ever met and
successfully teaches English at the high school level. And I can guarantee
you that none of her students get by with poor spelling. She has an almost
unhealthy fetish about it.

I struggle with spelling every message I write but fortunately I usually can
detect when I have misspelled something and try to get it corrected before I
send the message. I don't always succeed. Thank God for spelling checkers. 

I am strongly opposed to any relaxation of the old requirements of what it
takes to become a US citizen. I've observed and been part of the benefits of
those proper and appropriate rules. There should be no free lunch relative
to education or citizenship! 

Rant OFF!

Dean A. Van Peursem


-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of George Willer
Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 10:51 AM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: RE: [AT] Fwd: 100 years ago

Mike,

We are in complete agreement.  It is becoming fashionable to be a poor
speller and have no apparent notion of the meaning or spelling of words, the
most important part of communication.  A case in point is the many who can
no longer understand the difference between "losing" and "loosing".  It
seems most nowadays get it wrong.  There are many more examples I could
cite, but shouldn't the ball be carried by those stuffy guys who have an
advanced education?  (which I don't) I don't expect to be here in a decade
or two when communication fails completely.  Shouldn't we all pay more
attention?

Just so you know... I was past 60 when I first began to type, so I *DO* try
to pay attention.  That's why I proofread most of what I type before
submitting and expecting others to figure out what I meant.  I don't always
succeed!  :-(

George Willer 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-
> bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Mike Sloane
> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 12:38 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Fwd: 100 years ago
> 
> As far as the fact that 2 out of 10 adults could not read or write, I
> question that, as public schooling, at least through the fifth grade,
> had been around for at least a century in this country. In fact, I
> suspect that, aside from immigrants, most adults were probably more
> literate than adults today - the main source of news and entertainment
> was reading newspaper and books.
> 
> Richard Fink Sr wrote:
> > Interesting
> > R Fink
> >
> >
> >> This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine...   The year is 1906.
> >> One hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!   Here are
> >> some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1906:   The average life
> >> expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.   Only 14 percent of the homes in
> >> the U.S. had a bathtub.   Only 8 percent of the homes had a
> >> telephone.   A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost
> >> eleven dollars.   <snip>