Why can't we have an education system that trained teachers to teach our kids words from their roots?

Question

It will makes it easier for the kids to spell correctly if they understand the roots of the word.

Answer 1

I agree with you that it would make it easier to know the roots of the word. There are many rules of spelling and grammar and, when applied to a root word, makes another form of that root word. If you know the root words and the rules, you can spell anything. We used to have this long ago in school. It was called phonics. It really works.

Answer 2

It sounds like you are referring to the public education system and not just any education system. Teachers nowadays are teaching kids to read and spell using Sight Words. While it can (in the best case scenario) increase a young students instantaneous recognition of individual words at a more rapid pace (the goal of public school education) it unfortunately does nothing to develop a young reader who can sound out new words and actually be able to deduce the meaning from a root word they have learned. Memorization skills are being used in place of actually learning what words mean and building on that knowledge. The result of this for many students is weak to non-existent reading comprehension skills, a necessary skill for passing state-mandated standardized testing.



We can and do have an education system that can teach kids words starting with the root. It's called home-schooling and allows parents choice in how their children will learn to read, do mathematics, etc.

Answer 3

Teachers do teach students to recognize root words--I see my students working on their English assignments with root words when they should be learning French ;-) I teach French and German. I always point out relationships between words in the target language and English, and with French, it is always a Greek or Latin root. When they learn the word 'porte' (door) or 'porter' (wear or carry) I point out import, export, airport, seaport, portal, porthole, report, deport, deportation, portable, port-a-potty... When they learn durer (to last) I point out, or ask for related words (duration, endure, durance vile...the latter few students know, so I encrease their vocabulary and knowledge of roots while teaching French.

The very best way to increase a child's vocabulary is wide reading. If you read to a child, you can introduce literature and words which are far beyond their free-reading level, as your tone of voice and interpretation of the story will provide the meaning of the word--and you are right there to explain the word that they did not catch the meaning of!

There is also some research showing that vocabulary retention and spelling can be improved by free reading that does not focus on vocabulary acquisition or spelling, but on enjoyment. Eventually most people learn to recognize which spelling looks ro sounds right, but even well-educated adults who know many roots still have their bugaboos.

Answer 4

If you have ever been in a spelling bee( as I have) children are giving the etymyology of a word as if it were being read in a dictionary. The other breakdown of the word or phonics are given by teachers for the kids to breakdown the sounds. I know this because my husband is a 2nd grade teacher and tells me how they ( his students) learn.

Answer 5

English is such a complicated language that sometimes it's quicker to memorize lists of words. This does work for students who learn well visually, but not so well for other types of learners.



I agree with you that it's important to know the history of a word, most especially to understand its meaning. Also, good teachers know that an interesting story helps in memorization because it gives context.

Answer 6

Parents seem to think that they have given up all responsibility of teaching to the public school system. Standards vary in every town, in every state across the nation and we do not have a standardized national education system. Kids who excel have parents who teach their children too. Teachers aren't babysitters... just facilitator's really and its hard when you have on average 32 children to teach. Parents should give their children as much extra focus on eduction outside of the school house as they do on sports, etc..

Answer 7

Words don't come from roots. Tapioca does.