Thursday, November 17, 2011

My Obsession


THREE WORD WEDNESDAY
http://www.threewordwednesday.com
chose the words


MY OBSESSION
(From the heart)

When it comes to obsessions,
Mine is rather strange;
I believe in Simplified Spelling;
For years I've yearned for change.
It seems to me quite crazy
That children learn to spell,
When phonetic spelling does the job,
And does it very well.
Think of the years that children spend
In learning spelling rules,
When there are more important things
To occupy our schools!
The English language, as it is,
Is a hotchpotch from other lands;
And it's bits-and-pieces spelling rules
No foreigner understands.
This desire for Simplified Spelling
Gave impetus to my career,
And I'd almost got the subject nailed
When I reached my final year.
I taught by my own methods
And the children that I taught
Could write with ease at six years old,
Using words of any sort!
But my words just fell on deaf ears,
My system was dismissed;
Against the traditional spellers
I simply could not resist.
But now, consider texting,
And the spelling of our youth;
To some it seems to be just crude,
Slapdash and uncouth.
But I see the seeds of common-sense,
Albeit in need of precision;
I see the system of future years
Not something causing derision.
I'll never live to see it
And that is an honest sorrow,
But I'm very, very certain
There'll be vindication tomorrow.
I'm bitterly disappointed
That I wont live to see
Common-sense prevailing
Regarding orthography.
But there is a certain solace
In knowing that, one day,
The whole world will agree with me
And you'll all see things my way!
*
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SHADOWY SHAPES

Together we made shadows as we walked the path today;
Shadows in the plural. It was not always that way.
Not long ago we walked as one with arms always entwined;
And our embracing shadows were lovingly combined.
There was no space between us; it seemed that we were one;
The future represented by the shadow in the sun.
But then you spoke the cruel words never anticipated!
Our shadows separated! I stood shocked and devastated.
Together we made two shadows as we swiftly moved apart.
Now there is just one shadow; the shadow round my heart.
*

10 comments:

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

I always enjoy my visits here!!!

Mary said...

Clever write for 3WW. You are right, of course. I am working now with my almost 4-year-old daughter on letter recognition, some simple spellings. Trust me, I am all for spelling YOUR way.

Tim said...

I may be wrong, but I think learning the weirdness of English spelling (I'm very good at it - I can even spell 'bee') loosened my brain up to all sorts of things.
Anyway, love the rimes (sp?)

Kay L. Davies said...

Very forward-thinking re spelling, Brenda. I'm afraid I'm one of those "if I learned it, so can you" types, although I'd be quite upset if anyone said such a thing to me about math. I think spelling is easy, and fun. My husband thinks math is easy and fun. Of course, he can also spell. I hate when that happens.

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

Sheilagh Lee said...

clever both of these .My daughter's started school during the no phonetics day luckily for them I'd all ready taught them how to read before school so they always sounded out the words.phonetics works

MozInOz said...

I love your work Brenda and am always a-dazed and a-gazed at what a prolific writer you are! Not to mention a tad envious. Keep up the great work, woman! Looking forward to having you at the RX in December

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

The first one reminds me of why I like Spanish and why I'm so mystified as to why other native English-speakers find it so hard to pronounce. I guess when you go through life never completely certain how to spell or pronounce something, it's hard to trust that there are languages where you really do pronounce everything just as it looks.

Berowne said...

Beautifully expressed, as usual...

Tools For English said...

Thanks for sharing this with us. I've quiet enjoyed the experience of reading your blog so far. Maybe some cliff notes at the bottom would be a useful addition to summarize the lessons...regardless i will be checking back here so keep up the delightful work,your readers appreciate it...

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Rallentanda said...

Here here!Bring back phonetics.
Idiots are running the show now Rinkly.They don't make them like us anymore:)And more's the pity!