... but aren't you 12 years old? (unless your birthday falls somewhere between June 6th and now, that is - in which case, you are 13 now)

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--renatele

So where did the old ones come from, then?

As for what I have to say about you supposedly being in English Honors---I think your teacher (or whoever placed you there) should be shot. (Well, you did ask. ) If that is what passes for 'good', even 'excellent' use of English where you are, then the educational system has really gone downhill.

As for telling how old you are--your username could be 'momof3' and we'd still suspect that you're a child. We have a little thing called experience--with reading posts, with using the English language, and with interacting with children/persons much younger than we are. (In fact, quite a few of us have kids your age, and trust me....we know you when we see you.)

It's not a bad thing, necessarily. It's just that pre-teens tend to behave in certain ways versus teens, versus college kids, versus adults---and the markers are easy to spot. (For instance....adults don't care who is on anyone's "side"...or if they do, they generally don't advertise it like you did, because they realize that it is a relatively immature way to relate to people.) Maturity comes with experience, as well as age, and you'll gain both.

I hope you get your skate situation straightened out without too much expense. The upshot of what we've been trying to say is, repair is usually less expensive than replacement, and is usually well worth the minimal hassle it may take. (Of course, this presumes your skates are otherwise in good shape--if they're trashed to begin with, then perhaps replacing them makes better sense.)

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

In some places it is honours!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. I am a terrible speller so I will just go back into my glass house and not throw anymore stones

Kids today can type without even looking at the keyboard and somtimes your fingers slip and you end up pushing another letter. I am a kid also and it is hard to keep up. (not just with school work,but with everything else)





p.s. Don't any of you adults remember what it was like to be a kid???

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Why do I skate? I don't know you tell me.

Believe it or not, I think most of us DO remember what it was like to be a kid (I know I do!). It's just that we now realize the importance of some things that we didn't realize when we were kids, and that's why we tell you. I hope all of us can retain the best parts of being a kid (staying open-minded, keeping our enthusiasm towards new experiences and remembering how to have fun) while also taking on the best things about being an adult (being responsible, being nice and respectful to other people even if we don't really like them, etc.).

Most things were pretty much the same when we were kids, but some things have definitely changed, such as the importance placed on writing properly. I think a lot of us adults are worried that kids and teens will get so used to IM-ing and text messaging using abbreviated spelling that they won't be able to write properly when they grow up and have to write business letters and important documents. That can be a huge handicap, resulting in a loss of respect from others in the professional world and keeping them in jobs that don't pay enough. Spell check won't solve all your problems, either. For example, you can write "herd" instead of "heard" or "desert" instead of "dessert" and it won't catch the mistakes because they are all words--just the wrong ones!

I type without looking at the keyboard, but I still check to make sure my posts are easily read. A few typos isn't a big deal. (Like your post right here, is easy to read, although capital letters would make it even easier.) But when there are so many typos, and no capital letters at the start of sentences- it is tough.

I do remember what it was like to be a kid, and I remember when I was communicating with adults I was "on my best behavior" and spoke properly. By the time I was in middle school I was posting on newsgroups- so I was even in the age of the internet. All the abbreviations didn't come up until IM. I never really used them because I type fast enough that I can type as fast as I talk. But I understand some people need them to keep a good rate of conversation going. BUT on a message board, you can take the extra time. It's not real time communication like IM is.

I don't think it's a problem to learn shortcuts and abbreviations to use with other kids in messaging, but boards like this have both age groups. It's not fair for us to pick on kids for everything, but I think it's important to meet in the middle- since both ages are represented. [Such as, it's not a huge deal if you don't use capital letters, as long as you use proper punctuation. Or, I won't ever complain about a misplaced comma or a single typo as long as it looks like the poster tried. Everyone makes mistakes. But there is a difference between making a mistake and not even caring enough about the other posters on the board to make an effort to be understood.]

And even more than the age divide, I'll go back to what I said in my first post- there are international users on this forum who do not speak english as a first language. Those users are for whom clarity in posting is most important.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Not to get us OT, but when I was a teacher I saw this all the time on kids' papers. In one example, in a paper on Islam (9th grade history was "Great Civilizations"), a student wrote "scared" instead of "sacred" every time ("The Dome of the Rock is scared to Muslims"), and spell check obviously never picked it up. To make this story even better, she chose to rewrite the paper for a better grade (an option the kids had) and still didn't correct the misspelling, despite my circling every example of the mistake. When I commented about it on the rewrite, she came to me, dumbfounded, and said she didn't understand why I kept saying that was wrong when spell check didn't call it out. (Gee, why would a teacher know anything about spelling? ) I pointed out why it was an error and suggested to her that she check the dictionary to verify spellings and meanings b/c spell check doesn't necessarily pick up every mistake, and she looked at me like I was from another planet.

Lesson here: as doubletoe pointed out, spell check is not the last word in spelling, and there are certain situations where spell check is not available - such as job applications that you have to fill out by hand, plus isn't there an essay section now on the SATs? If you want people to respect you and communicate with you as an equal, whether at a job or on a message board, sloppy writing doesn't do it.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Sorry to stay off topic but I think that now we are going to see even more instances of incorrect spelling and grammar as the kids that never learned to spell are growing up and some are going into teaching. I was at a secondary school the other day and in the music room was the following notice

'If your not asking questions your not learning'

or some such admirable sentiment.......

...but I just wished I had a big black pen with me to correct the teacher's dreadful mistake of using 'your' when she meant 'you're'.

If that is what the kids are seeing every day from teachers how can we possibly expect them to use the correct form of words? You can't blame the kids when they are being taught badly.

If only I had had a pack of post-it notes I would have left a message correcting it!!!!!!!!

Crazi4sk-8-ting: - we adults can type without looking too you know (it's called touch-typing and you needed to be fast and accurate in the days when a mistake meant getting the tippex out or re-doing the whole thing) but all you have to do is read over what you've written before you send and correct any mistakes - doesn't take long! Oh and I do remember what is was like to be a kid and as someone mentioned above, we were taught to respect our elders and to write politely. I guess that's why we like to have the same courtesy extended to us now we are adults. It's just so much easier to read and understand.

I meant no disrespect in my last post, but it really is hard being a kid. We are still taught to respect our elders, but when it comes to school things toattly change. Peer preasure is a lot more than being asked to smoke or take drugs. I am lucky, I am not often picked on because I am a brainyac ( Not sure how to spell that, not sure they have it in the dictionary either.) .but I am not dumb either. I am not a wiz-kid nor am I a idiot. I just do the best I can, but for some people I guess that just isn't enough.

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Why do I skate? I don't know you tell me.

Don't worry, you didn't come across as disrespectful at all. And doing your best is ALWAYS enough.

I SUUUUUURE do remember what it's like to be a kid about your age (12.) I was still ice skating weekends on crowded public session and in rental skates I also remembered very clearly having my teachers harass me about my grammar/spelling/etc and not doing well in English class. The worst part was I didn't have a "spell checker" or a word processor back in my day!

My "spell checker" was me and my hard copy dictionary! I was working with paper, pen, and LOTS of white-out!!! In high school, I was upgraded to a manual typewriter and LOTS of white-out tape!!! In college, I was upgraded to an electric typewriter! Oh, wait! You guys probably have never seen a typewriter... You guys probably also don't know anything about 1" left and right margins and double spaced lines, huh?

And if you think I have it easy... remember this... ENGLISH WAS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE!!! (And I still have to keep up with my first language too, because it's "expected" coming from my culture!)

And if you think that English and grammar isn't important when you're a grown-up, just wait 'til you're working at an office job where you would need excellent communication skills. People are NOT going to take you seriously if you don't have good English skills! (And if you were working as an editor of a computer magazine like I was once upon a time, you would eventually be fired from your job with misspelling like those going out to print or production!!!)

Sorry if I sound harsh, but given what I went through as a kid and the expectations put upon me to be perfect in English and still keep up with my Chinese studies (never mind avoid bullies and peer pressure), this is one area where my patience is low!!!

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Hey if you think it's tough being a kid - try being an adult!!! Life is tough for us too you know. Doing your best is always enough but you can always learn something and I think that is all people are hoping for. We have a TV programme called 'Brainiac' in the UK so I guess that's how you'd spell it. See you've learned something today!! When you are older and the teachers or your employer is complimenting you on your written work you can thank us all for, gently, (I hope), encouraging you to write as well as you can and not to be satisfied with less. Good Luck for the future and have fun skating.

I'm out of the loop on this thread, but I'll congratulate KidSkater17 on his/her new skates!

As for the controversy over the spelling and punctuation, every online board is different and has a standard. If you look at the majority of posts on this board, they're well-written and are very easily read. I remember lurking before I joined and seeing someone else get a very gentle reminder that IM-speak isn't appropriate on this board. (You can always edit mistakes later.)

I feel that threads that start off with proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation tend to get faster, productive replies and they last longer. Just my opinion.

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I truly have nothing more to say about the spelling issue.
The only thing that I am going to say is that my skates are comming tomorrow. I contacted Jackson and they would not sell directly to the public. But ordering my skates from a store outside of N.Y. is A LOT CHEAPER!

If you have a problem with my spelling and how I act you do not have to reply to any of my threads or posts. You might think that I am disrespectfull but I was taught to speak up when something isn't right. Unfortunatly, I can not learn as quick as other students and have a harder time in school. You might say that the schooling is going down the drain but you can't blame that on the students! I am not 11 or 12 right now I am 13 and on July 9th I am turning 14.

Kidskater, is it okay if someone compliments you on your perfect spelling, grammar and punctuation?
And that's good news about your skates!

Hi everyone... I've never posted before, but I'm a bit confused.......

Kidskater, how on earth are you 13 turning 14 on July 9th if you were 12 on June 6th/06?

No disrespect intended, but you stated in a post on June 6th that you were 12. If I knew how to cut and paste that comment on here, I would.

And that was posted by kidskater on 6/6/06.

Hmmmm, kidskater seems to be aging rather quickly.

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Coach: "And what are your skating goals?"

Me: "To no longer be a danger to myself or others
while on skates."

Ditto to what doubletoe said. Great news on the skates and a beautifully written post. Success on all counts! Well done kidskater and hope you have many happy years of skating. Let us know how the skates work out for you.

Glad you got your skates sorted out- I wish mine would get here.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Given the discussion, I thought this article was appropriate.

__________________
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

Wow, that was hard to read. Although it reminds me of my physics professor. He used to rant and rave about spelling in English, and always came up with alternate spellings for words, something like ghit for fish, but the i was replaced with something else, although I forget what it was now. "gh" like in tough, "t" like in nation. He once got on this topic and was going on and on for about 45 minutes of our 1 hour lecture time.

It's "ghoti". Here's an article that explains it. (Really kind of interesting--I love linguistics.)

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"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

I guess i'm just saying this because I am a kid ,but that artical wasn't that bad you just have to use context clues.

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Why do I skate? I don't know you tell me.

All I have to say is that I never make a mistrake!

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This is really my cousins account I have been skating since I was 7. I was the one who actually got her into skating. We signed up together and have been using the same account for at least one or two months now She doesn't really use her account anymore her parents found out that she was on a site like my space and is not permited to go on the web untill she can be trusted.

I am starting to think that I should get my own account!