Counting On Season 8/9/10 2: How low will they go? (CW: Miscarriage)

[Natalie22]

On 2/27/2019 at 6:37 AM, Bobology said:

Kids for whom spelling is their easiest/best subject in school will pick it. Particularly if your classmates in general have trouble with spelling and you don't, you get a chance to shine... in something. Spelling can be difficult/tricky for some intelligent people and I've seen some students who were, overall, behind* in everything else but up to snuff in spelling.

*'Behind' is such a relative and unkind term. I believe everyone learns at an individual pace and some definitely learn better from alternative teaching styles. A home school parent, above all other options, should cater to that, but sadly most can do no more than follow sequential lessons provided in a sequential packet that was developed for use by people who have no background in teaching.

I think that would make sense if it was a younger kid, but I don't recall ever having spelling tests in high school and I don't think I had any in grades 7 or 8 as well.  If we did it was rare.  I would assume that most kids in highschool would be taught english and that it would be assumed they can spell or figure out how to check their own spelling.

[lizzybee]

@TZmom, spelling was my favorite too. I was and am such a nerd. I used to hang out with my English teachers before school and during my lunch to help them grade papers and make quizzes for classes I wasn't in just because I wanted to. No surprise I got a degree in English Ed. 

My grandmother raised me and always made such a big deal about my spelling. She paid very close attention to how I was doing on spelling tests and went over the words with me and I remember her doing that more than I remember her working with me on any other subject. Consequently, I'm a major word nerd. I love language, linguistics, and literature to the point that I'm almost not good at anything else (I mean obviously I can do other things, but not like I can work with words). 

Jackson seemed to be dominating the "class" Ben was teaching and I'm tempted to say they were likely all grouped together for the purpose of doing this project/field trip together (for the camera). Probably because this is stuff he already knows. I'll give that a guess considering he said he doesn't enjoy math in general. 

[VeryNikeSeamstress]

I wonder if spelling is one of those things that will become somewhat  obsolete with the rise of technology. From what I understand cursive writing isn't being taught as much anymore in some places, students either print or type.

I was a good speller as a kid, but autocorrect has me feeling rusty. Grammar would have to continue be taught, because their is still the need for people to learn there homonyms with autocorrect.

[metheglyn]

17 hours ago, VeryNikeSeamstress said:

I wonder if spelling is one of those things that will become somewhat  obsolete with the rise of technology. From what I understand cursive writing isn't being taught as much anymore in some places, students either print or type.

I was a good speller as a kid, but autocorrect has me feeling rusty. Grammar would have to continue be taught, because their is still the need for people to learn there homonyms with autocorrect.

One problem with computers and autocorrect, however, is that a lot of the time I've seen autocorrect either change a correct but uncommon word to a different word, or correct a mispelling to a different word. If you don't know how the word you want is spelled, you may accept the incorrect word without knowing the difference and therefore allow a change of meaning, or even the creation of nonsense, instead of saying what you want to say. In contrast, if something is simply misspelled, it may be easier for people to figure out that what you meant rather than the substitution of an incorrect word.

Similarly, if you're doing dictation, often the word parser may pick the wrong word and if you don't know which one you want, you may go ahead and accept the wrong one if it's the most prominent suggestion or happened without your knowing.

(As my own example of the hazards of autocorrect, I almost typed "except" earlier in this post instead of "accept" but caught it and fixed it since I know the difference between the two words. I've seen many instances online where people either used or allowed the wrong version and I had to try to figure out what they meant.

Also, I've had autocorrect on my phone change uncommon spellings of people's names in emails and such that I'd spelled correctly, and I didn't catch the change since I'd already moved on to focus on the text, but then I sent an email with the receiver's name spelled wrong. I felt bad afterwards, and it looked like I was careless, but I'd tried on my end and then just missed the change that happened without my permssion.

On the other hand, I'm VERY grateful that autocorrect frequently fixes some of my recurrent typos like "univresity" for "university" since I tend to switch the letters around when I'm typing too fast. There I know it's often wrong and could fix it myself, but in many programs I don't have to.) 

 

[BernRul]

19 hours ago, VeryNikeSeamstress said:

I wonder if spelling is one of those things that will become somewhat  obsolete with the rise of technology. From what I understand cursive writing isn't being taught as much anymore in some places, students either print or type.

I was a good speller as a kid, but autocorrect has me feeling rusty. Grammar would have to continue be taught, because their is still the need for people to learn there homonyms with autocorrect.

Spelling and cursive writing are still being taught, at least in every school I've been too. Spelling tests are weekly. Cursive isn't focused on, that's true, but kids still see it and have some handwriting practice with cursive letters. We just don't devote that much time on it (which I agree with. It's not that improtant compared to other skills, but still good to see).

Most of my third graders love to practice writing their names in cursive, even if they aren't always good at it. 

[Bobology]

On 2/28/2019 at 9:55 PM, Natalie22 said:

I think that would make sense if it was a younger kid, but I don't recall ever having spelling tests in high school and I don't think I had any in grades 7 or 8 as well.

True about HS spelling, but I think the Duggars don't "do" high school. They start mowing at age 12 then gradually do some adult-type work but with scant training. Then when they are the typical age of graduation someone in the household prints off a Duggar Academy diploma with a kid's name on it. Any real HS curriculum, such as English and world literature, physical and biological sciences, algebra and trig, would encourage the kids to think and question, and they can't have that or JB could lose control.

[Peaches-n-Beans]

I did spelling all the way until I entered ninth grade (due in large part because I was a terrible speller) and I was homeschoolled, it definitely wasn't my favorite subject though. Also even in the homeschool community spelling past 7th or 8th grade is considered kind of odd. None of my friends in my grade who were homeschooled had spelling after 8th grade. I'm not sure I'd've ever picked it as a favorite subject. I had a great home education and it honestly makes my heart ache to see what these kids are learning because if done right you can totally get a quality education at home. Unfortunately with Mechelle as a parent I'm not sure anything in that house is quality... 

I never remember what I said my favorite subject is though I do recall being indignant at the doctors office at one point and telling him. "Laundry" was my favorite. 

[Bobology]

Spelling as a studied subject often goes through 8th grade, due in part to the national Scripps-Howard (or whatever) annual spelling bee. Everyone wants a piece of that pie locally, regionally and nationally, so around here even most home-schooled students participate.

You are correct, @Peaches-n-Beans, that some kids get a quality education from their parents. I think Michelle was smart and dedicated enough, but with baby after baby she couldn't keep up -- no one could.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

If I'm remembering right, my spelling tests switched to vocabulary tests some time in 8th or 9th grade. We still had to know how to spell the word, but we also had to be able to define it and use it correctly in a sentence.

The national spelling bee didn't seem to affect things around here back in the 1980s. My last spelling bee experience was in grade school. I still have a few spelling bee awards from back then, with my last name misspelled.  

[fluffernutter]

I was in elementary school in the late 70's through the mid 80's and when we had handwriting class, it was on 1/2 sheet of paper that would get sent somewhere, and then they would be sent back and someone would always get like a gold star or sticker or stamp for good work. I LOVED when it was me. Does anyone remember this?

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

@fluffernutter, I was in grade school from 1975 to 1982, and I definitely remember practicing handwriting. I don't think I had your exact experience, though. I'm pretty sure my teachers would grade the papers themselves, and more than one student might get a gold star, or a sticker.

I loved gold stars! We didn't have as many kinds of stickers back then, but we had our gold stars!

[TheMustardCardigan]

I think spelling will continue to be important-- autocorrect isn't perfect and you have to be at least close to the right spelling for it to be able to know what you're trying to spell. Plus, spellcheck has already been on computers for a long time. Still doesn't stop people from looking like an illiterate mess on Facebook and such.

 

I'm catching up on Counting On and I just heard the part where Jessa says it was a "big privilege" to go to the grocery store back when she was a kid and if you behaved, you'd get to go again. A little sad that it was a big highlight for these kids to go to the grocery store... but I guess in the pre-TTH days it was probably a relief to get to leave the small house with 14 kids that always had a line for the bathroom.

[tabitha2]

I certainly was not in Jessas situation but I loved going to the grocery store when I was a child. I liked the yummy samples , the fancy cakes in bakery dept, looking at videos for rent and picking out one or two, riding in the buggy and helping pick out things so I imagine it’s fun for a lot of kids really.

[lizzybee]

I love the grocery store. Grocery shopping is one of my favorite things to do. 

[mpheels]

I also loved going to the grocery store as a kid. Even as a teenager, grocery shopping with my mom was a special bonding time. I was the only kid still loving at home at that point, so it wasn’t the only opportunity for attention, but it was something “special” we did together every week. 

As an adult, I still love grocery shopping. I meal plan and prep, and find grocery shopping to be relaxing. When I visit a different country, I always spend some time browsing a grocery store - it’s a fun window into a culture.

[Jana814]

I enjoy grocery shopping.  One of the first things I did after I got my drivers license at 17 was go to the store. 

[Sacrilicious Twerk-a-Work]

1 hour ago, tabitha2 said:

I certainly was not in Jessas situation but I loved going to the grocery store when I was a child. I liked the yummy samples , the fancy cakes in bakery dept, looking at videos for rent and picking out one or two, riding in the buggy and helping pick out things so I imagine it’s fun for a lot of kids really.

THIS! We had a Price Mart "in town" that we got our groceries at when we got our WIC vouchers and Dad got paid. My elisi was wonderfully patient while Mom would get groceries......I wanted to see the "woskers" (Lobster tank), walk up and down the cereal aisle to look at the colorful boxes (this was the 80s, after all) and best of all, looking at the cakes in the bakery display. It was always fun, even when we couldn't afford most things.

As an adult, it was easier for me to escape to the grocery store during my past marriage......Psycho Ex hated grocery shopping, particularly because he knew he couldn't pull his abusive behaviors in public. Even if I couldn't buy anything, I enjoyed the familiarity and comfort of grocery stores, the hum of the music, the smells and sounds.....oh, and samples are nice too! My now-husberb is equally enthusiastic about food shopping, if not more than me.......he's a junkie for Trader Joe's and Aldi's. A Winco opened nearby too. I get why Jessa used that method---lots of sensory enjoyment for the wee ones. 

On 2/24/2019 at 9:16 PM, freethemall said:

As others said, it's the opposite.

It was pretty clear when it happened that it was like, TLC has already filmed our family in Israel, gotta choose something else, so France, Italy, Greece, Swirltzerland, Australia, UK, Japan are all out of the picture, whats left?

.............Death Valley? Bucksnort, TN?

[tabitha2]

I always felt sorry for the live Lobsters In the store and There was a Fiesta we always went to that had  Catfish swimming in a tank. Those fish still scare and creep me out but I felt bad for them as well.

[nvmbr02]

On 3/3/2019 at 5:05 AM, BernRul said:

Spelling and cursive writing are still being taught, at least in every school I've been too. Spelling tests are weekly. Cursive isn't focused on, that's true, but kids still see it and have some handwriting practice with cursive letters. We just don't devote that much time on it (which I agree with. It's not that improtant compared to other skills, but still good to see).

Most of my third graders love to practice writing their names in cursive, even if they aren't always good at it. 

Cursive wasn't taught in the last two schools we have been to. One was in Minnesota the other is in DODEA (Department of Defense schools).  Spelling was taught in Minnesota through 5th grade. In the DODEA school we are at now, spelling is optional (up to the teacher to decide. So far my now 4th grader has has spelling one year out of the three she has been here, except for Spanish and Culture class. My 9th grader has spelling lists this year in two of her classes (Honor English 9 and AP Human Geography).

I personally think both spelling and cursive are important enough to at least learn some of the basics. I am a terrible speller. I am so bad that sometimes even google or autocorrect can't help me. 

[TheMustardCardigan]

I loved running errands with my mom as a kid too-- but I just don't think I ever would have phrased it the way Jessa did. It kind of reads differently coming from her than from someone who had a non-fundie upbringing and did normal kid things like go to school, go to friends' houses, play in a team sport or do some other organized activity some nights after school, etc. Normal kids get to leave the house and interact with non-family peers/the outside world more often than the Duggar kids did.

 

[Jana814]

53 minutes ago, TheMustardCardigan said:

Normal kids get to leave the house and interact with non-family peers/the outside world more often than the Duggar kids did.

 

Exactly the Duggar kids rarely got to leave the house except for church so I’m sure going to the store was a huge treat for them. 

[feministxtian]

4 hours ago, Sacrilicious Twerk-a-Work said:

A Winco opened nearby too.

I'm hoping a Winco gets opened here in SW Vegas. RIght now there's one in NLV and Henderson...we NEED one here!!!! I LOVE Winco! It wouldn't hurt if they opened a TJ's too. A Sprouts is opening up the street soon. 

(SW Vegas is sorta the ass end of nowhere, but it's getting better)

[JingerSnaps]

11 hours ago, nvmbr02 said:

My 9th grader has spelling lists this year in two of her classes (Honor English 9 and AP Human Geography).

I find it really odd that her AP HuG class is giving spelling tests unless they are part of vocab test. That class is super vocab heavy, but they don’t count off for spelling as long as the readers/test graders can understand what you are saying. I can see how doing spelling tests could maybe help drill some of the vocab in your head, but I can promise you this AP HuG teacher and horrible speller is not giving spelling tests. 

[freethemall]

12 hours ago, Sacrilicious Twerk-a-Work said:

.............Death Valley? Bucksnort, TN?

You know the thing is, there's lots of amazing places left for them to go in the world. My current bucket list is:

Iceland

Thailand

South Africa

Kenya

Maldives

Argentina

Cuba

Banff, Canada

Kauai, Hawaii

Alaska

Bali

Bahamas

And so many other places but they've decided to exhaust Europe and so have cut all these places out.

[Audrey2]

I'm just ready to send them to Luxembourg and/or Liechtenstein. Andorra would also be good.