Why can't Billy read?

 

I am a little bit of a "spelling Nazi", at least according to several former employees. I was known to return schedule requests to employees for bad spelling. One of my biggest pet peeves was those chalkboards or dry erase boards that you often see when you enter a restaurant. If you want to debate whether or not Americans can spell, check out one of those first.

In the 21st Century, we have abandoned actual learning. Many believe that there is no need to learn to spell, write, add, subtract or even know what happened on December 7, 1941. Don't bother looking it up! It was the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.

Yes, we have traded in actual knowledge for the ownership of and an addiction to a smart(?) phone. Is it "smart phone" or "smartphone"? It started off as two words and is now more commonly used as one word. Interestingly enough, the spelling checker in the Blogger site did not show either selection as wrong. 

English has become a lazy language. In using our form of English, Americans seem hell-bent on becoming a people unwilling or unable to use anything more than single syllable words. 

One of my many pet peeves is the use of the term "merch". I am told that "merch" is short for "merchandise". Are we just so pressed for time that we can't use the whole word "merchandise"? If one is not familiar with the slang term, what do one do? I am reluctant to endorse profanity, but I offer a recent personal experience to possibly enlighten you on this dilemma. 

At the 301 Yard Sale in eastern North Carolina a few weeks ago, a young man approached my space on Friday morning. He asked, "What kind of merch do you sell?" I quickly responded, "I don't think that I have any (expletives deleted)  merchs, but feel free to look around and see for yourself." The young lady with him was laughing so hard that she walked away for a minute. Incredibly enough, he bought a few tools. As I put them into a bag, I told him "Just for your information, old people call these things wrenches." He just smiled and the girl started laughing again.  They walked away with her pointing her finger at him, still laughing. 

Even with spelling check, spellcheck or however you spell it on the computer, I keep a dictionary on the desk next to the computer. This is how geeks exist in the computer age. 

I have never met Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, but I am pretty sure that she doesn't keep a dictionary anywhere near her. They (whoever they are) say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Here's a recent post from a woman who was/is an educator. Is this why Billy can't read?