Spellchecker

9-17-05 9 pm

Have a funny student story from yesterday.

In one of my classes, we are typing business letters into the computers at the back of my room. One student (I can’t say real names) has a name that isn’t the everyday type of name like John or Jimmy. And it isn’t different either. Let’s just say that Microsoft Word’s spellcheck puts one of those red squiggly lines under it to say it may be spelled wrong. (Fascinatingly, there currently is one of those lines underneath the word “spellcheck.” I cannot fathom what to do with it otherwise. Would it be two words?)

Anyway, he is typing his name, and he asks me, “How do you spell -------?” I surmised what he was asking and what was going on without even looking, and asked him, “How do YOU spell ------?” He barely listens as I try to explain how Word can’t get all proper names. He tells me that spellcheck says that one of the vowels should be replaced (without getting specific).

I swear, he honestly says that must be the way to spell it. And he left it there. Anything to get rid of that red squiggly line. He changed the spelling of his own name because Word told him to.

I can only imagine that he thinks his name has been spelled wrong for the past twelve years or so.