Learning to Spell

I was talking to a client yesterday and she mentioned that in the U.K. there is a move in schools to potentially stop teaching spelling. Just imagine no spelling rules! Or if there are any our children will not know what they are, running the risk of the rules being lost. 

I took a moment to think of a world without spelling and wondered if we would manage to communicate effectively via the written word. I thought of an issue that arose when I was seeking some guidance from a copy righter and the small business organization provided a copywriter.

There is a distinct difference in skills and role between the two. Yes write and right sound the same but the meaning is very different.

What are your thoughts of education that eliminates writing and eliminates spelling. Two basics of the old school of thought. What will be left as the building blocks for teaching children how to communicate and how to learn? What will our future look like?

Do you have any thoughts? Do you think the concept is a good one or a problem one and why?

Libraries

Have you ever considered starting a library? A lending library I mean? 

We have been exploring this topic and discovered some fascinating kinds of libraries. When talking of a library, I usually think of books. There are, of course toy libraries for borrowing toys and games for short-term play to be returned and have the opportunity to take out something different.

Today I learned of another type of library, a seed library. Evidently it is becoming quite popular.I never thought of borrowing seeds before. If you borrow let's say ten seeds of a given plant, how do you return them? Don't the seeds germinate and then become a plant? Do you then return the plant?

It's a fascinating idea and topic. 

What other kinds of libraries are out there?

Ebooks or Regular Books - What is Your Preference?

We have had a number of people recommend that we write an ebook and so we did a little research to find out whether those who read prefer ebooks or whether there is still a place for regular books. Remember them? The kind one can hold and feel, turn the pages, smell the paper and sometimes the print?

We had some responses and are pleasantly surprised to find most still prefer a proper book. There are times it is convenient to read an ebook especially when travelling on a bus, waiting in a queue or to fill some time for whatever reason. It does lighten ones load to just have your phone or iPad or Kindle with you. However, one downside of ebooks is that the battery can run out and then you can not continue until the battery is re-charged.

For those who are Jewish and observe Shabbat, anything using technology is not possible to be used on Shabbat.

What are your thoughts? Do you still enjoy a regular book with cover, actual pages and an item you can hold in your hands? Have you switched over to mostly reading ebooks? If so, what kind of books do you read on ebook and when do you still read regular / proper books?