This thread is for pissheads only.Crazyskier wrote: ↑Sun Mar 07, 2021 1:50 amWhat a defeatist and lazy attitude! The three 'R's, (reading, writing and 'rithmetic) are probably the most important thing you must learn at school. Or they certainly used to be at my old grammar, when I did O' levels! If you can't 'spell or add up' due to bunking classes to 'sit on the bog and read a newspaper', then that is indeed shameful, as it's your own lazy fault!Derek27 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:50 pmdon't think anyone should feel any embarrassment about not being able to spell or add up. They're just skills you either have or you don't.greenmark wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:34 pm
Hallelujah! a fellow linguistic pedant. I see so much of sloppy language online (on here). Although on here that's tempered by the wisdom and wit. And I understand the urge to communicate often overrides our own personal ideals for our native language. My first boss (who I have enormous respect for) often was grammatically incorrect, but he was a compelling communicator. Go figure. Err! I mean, work out that conundrum
That said, it's never too late to learn, though discipline is needed; something so often lacking in today's Britain, sadly. Standards of literacy, numeracy and decorum aren't what they used to be in old Blighty, more's the pity.
While I'm on my soapbox, I'll mention 'there', 'their' and 'they're'. There are so many people, including hereabouts, that don't know the difference and evidently can't be bothered to learn. And don't even start me on 'your' / 'you're' or the bastardisation of Queen's English by the Americans!
CS
And I never understood how 3 'R's could ever stand for reading, writing and arithmetic!
I only sat on a toilet seat and read the Sporting Life if I was bucking off a 40-minute lesson. Anything more than that, I'd go to my local park/woodland and sit on a bench I hadn't previously set fire to. But the fact that I'm earning a living trading whilst, sadly, many graduates struggle to find work and in turn, many people in work are being furloughed is proof that learning about horse racing was time well invested. On top of that, a lot of top jockeys and trainers would have done the same. Richard Pitman bucked off school and went to Presbury Hill to watch the Cheltenham Festival every year.
The point I was making in the part of my post that you quoted was that, I've known people with excellent literacy skills who can't add up and vice versa. The ability to add up is something we take for granted but some people don't have the aptitude and it's not necessarily intelligence related. Likewise with spelling.
I disagree that it's never too late to learn. I used to work with people who have learning difficulties and special needs, adults and children. They usually spend most of their time in day centres learning skills and being educated in some way. But I found it quite a refreshing change when I was at a centre for over fifties that was more focused on leisure. They took the view that there's only so much of your life to spend learning - some of it has to be spent living.
Work in the mornin lol 
