This post was written by Martha Frommelt, IPEI Board member and member of Fine Arts Booster Group.
In today’s education world where technology is at our finger tips and spell check is in every computer program, do we really need to know how to spell?
I turn to an artist for the answer. Slam poet and former middle school teacher Taylor Mali uses his poem “The the Impotence of Proofreading” to give us a resounding, “yes, we need to know how to spell!”
I cheer on spellers. And encourage everyone to come to IPEI’s the Annual Adult Spelling Bee on March 2 at 2:00 in Ithaca High’s Wellness Center. In this event, high school student and adult teams come together to have fun and spell, an educational way to raise money for IPEI Teacher Grants.
Consider wrapping your thinking around spelling for an afternoon, as an audience member, a team member or a sponsor. It is great fun for a great cause…our teachers. Check out www.ipei.org or email jcs6@cornell.edu for more information!
As a Fine Arts Booster Group (FABG) volunteer and Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) board member, I can attest to the fun and learning that will happen on March 2. And watch other art supporters defend their title from last year… the Fine Arts “Word” Boosters will be there.
But don’t take my word for it – here’s the first stanza of Taylor’s poem, “The Impotence of Proofreading”:
Has this ever happened to you?
You work very, very horde on a paper for English clash
And still get a very glow raid on it (like a D or even a D=)
and all because you are the liverwurst spoiler in the whale wide word.
Yes, proofreading your peppers is a matter of the the utmost impotence.