Today I overheard an adult ask "how do you spell school?"

[muriel_volestrangler]

I was sitting waiting for a train (in the UK), and a man in his early twenties went up to a woman sitting a few feet away, and said to her "I know this sounds silly, but my phone doesn't have predictive text - how do you spell 'school'?"

[In_The_Wind]

1. Obviously he is seeking the correct place.

Let's hope he goes back to school.

[BillZBubb]

2. That's to eezee: SKOOL.

Fonetiks iz yore frend.

[kentauros]

7. No no no.

Since it happened in the UK, you have to use some Gaelic/Welsh in the mix, too.

Scwl

or (just to make it more authentic through the concept of letters used to make sounds they don't normally make)

Fhscbhl

[hunter]

16. ysgol

.

[malaise]

3. Hehehehehe

It gets worse every day. A friend had a student write Erack for Iraq for an entire essay and the correct spelling was on the exam paper.

[awake]

4. As a dyslexic I do not find it strange at all.

As a matter of fact I find it quite courageous that he ask for help from stranger. Thoes who are not dyslexic have little or no clue of what it is like to live in a world of linear thinkers who look down on those who see the world differently. Many of the worlds great minds have been dyslexic if you are interested you can check them out here;

http://www.dyslexia.com/famous.htm

[WinkyDink]

12. I thought dyslexia was switching letters while reading.

[awake]

13. While switching letters can be a symptom of dyslexia

As one who come from a line of dyslexics (Grand father & father) my experience is that the mind of one with dyslexia works in a different way than those whith out it and the issue with letters is only a small part of how interacting with the world differs. One example is the abality to hold different and sometimes conflicting ideas in our mind at the same time or seeing more than one solution to a problem at the same instance. It has also been my experance that almost all of the dyslexics that I know have very good Spatial awareness.

[WinkyDink]

22. I said this because researchers have found that colored lenses often help. IMO, most humans "can

hold different and sometimes conflicting ideas in our mind at the same time or seeing more than one solution to a problem at the same instance." It's simply a matter of thinking.

[awake]

29. Yes colored glasses or yellow paper can sometimes help

And yes non dyslexic people can do as you said, I was trying to help those who are not dyslexic understand that our dyslexic brains work differently than others. I have had to put up with insensitive comments from people who have no understanding how hard it is to live in a culture that demeans thoes who's mind functions in a different than theirs. I have come to realize that dyslexia rather than being a disability is really a blessing. It is just that the English writen language has evolved by a whole lot of non dyslexic people to be the mashup it is today. If math and geometry had evolved the same way we would have never gotten to the moon let alone invented computers or even the lightbulb.

[OriginalGeek]

20. My friend and co-worker is dyslexic

He struggles through emails and often asks me what a word is or how to spell something. But that dude can write code backwards, blindfolded and with both hands tied behind his back.

One of the kindest men you'll ever meet. And a republican. We argue all the time about politics but remain friends. I tell him he's only republican because he's dyslexic and meant to be a Dem. He's just too generous and helpful and sweet to be a real repub. we never fight but we do argue and laugh a lot.

You know a guy is good people when he'll get up on a saturday morning and help you dig up your septic tank and put in a new sump pump. He did it for a beer.

[Egnever]

5. Was the woman his age?

[Odin2005]

6. Maybe she was dyslexic?

[Demonaut]

8. one "k" two "o's"

[OhioBlue]

9. I'll give him credit for asking for help and caring that he spelled it correctly.

I don't know if everyone has this problem, but I have a handful of words that for some reason, I have a hard time remembering the correct spelling. I used to have a hard time with "tomorrow" and "cinnamon" and still have some ei vs ie words that I regularly misspell and then correct.

But as another poster insinuated, if the woman was close to his age, he could have just been trying to find a way to start conversation.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. +1

I'm a fairly good speller but I've got a few words ingrained in my head incorrectly and nothing's going to fix it.
For instance, whenever I type "accommodate" and there's no squiggly red line under it I stop a second and think 'no f***ing way!"

[Hortensis]

28. I'm a good speller, but "its" often comes

out as "it's," and, as you say, nothing's going to fix it.

Lots of very well educated people are naturally lousy spellers. As a teen I imagined that even if I never took another class after high school my ability to spell well was a valuable, marketable asset that meant I would always be able to support myself comfortably.

Times change, and boy was I wrong -- in more ways than one. The market value of good spelling's in the toilet now, of course. Plus, in those days the kind of clerical work that required good spelling also provided a modest degree of economic security. You could live decently and comfortably on it, and even raise a child if necessary.

[tammywammy]

11. I can never remember how to spell ridiculous

Thank goodness for autocorrect and spell check.

[lonestarnot]

14. Maybe the poor thing is getting a brain malfunction.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. There are actual disabilities like Dyslexia that make spelling fun

wall and head are good responses always.

[herding cats]

17. Agraphia can cause you to suddenly forget how to spell words you knew.

It's caused by various medical conditions like traumatic brain injury, stroke, dementia, etc.

Don't judge too harshly, we don't know why he couldn't spell it, and he obviously knew he was making an error in his attempts.

Our minds are amazing things, but they're also as fragile as they are resilient. Sometimes the wiring gets messed up, for whatever reason, and we struggle to maintain/relearn our sense of self.

[treestar]

25. This ^^^

Not up for making fun of the person after reading about dyslexia and this post.

[struggle4progress]

18. Zckull

[JHB]

21. "Throatwarbler mangrove"

It's not pronounced the way it looks, so it always throws people.

[Xolodno]

23. Watched deadliest catch last night (On the Deck)...

...they were pulling a prank on Josh Harris, when one guy asked, "How do you spell license?"

If Josh watched it last night, think he had the last laugh.

[Brickbat]

24. It's so much fun to look down on others rather than give them the benefit of the doubt, isn't it?

Hope you had a good time!

[SammyWinstonJack]

33. I sometimes forget how to spell certain words and sometimes I

spell a word and it just doesn't look correct even though I know it is.

[Brickbat]

34. I hope it happens often in public and others are able to look down on you, because apparently

people who can't do things we can do are worth of derision and scorn.

[PersonNumber503602]

26. My first thoughts would be the person was being funny

Perhaps hoping people would post about it on the internet later on that day.

[chillfactor]

27. another trump supporter....

hard to believe millions of stupid republican voters would vote for this idiot...you know the kind that can't even spell "school."

[Blue_Tires]

30. Maybe English isn't his first language?

or maybe he didn't have the privilege of getting a proper education when he was a kid?

or maybe he's just a bad speller?

[muriel_volestrangler]

31. His accent was standard southern British

so I think he got the normal education here. Yes, I think he's an appalling speller. 'School' is a word you use a hell of a lot, growing up. He wasn't needing to read it either, so this doesn't seem like dyslexia to me (which other posts have suggested), but to write it down, as he has surely done thousands of times.

[Initech]

32. I heard someone ask what a door stop is.

That happened.