Today’s Peace of Wisdom Can Be Found When We Realize Our Words and Actions Have Consequences
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Betcha Didn't Know
The Spelling Experiment That Backfired
with Dr. Mark Foley
Back in the 1960s, England tried something so ambitious it almost sounds made up: they replaced the familiar A–Z alphabet with forty-four quirky symbols and sent kids to school to learn them. In this Betcha Didn’t Know, Dr. Mark Foley reveals how this grand experiment—meant to make reading easier—accidentally created a generation caught between two alphabets. From strange new letters to the chaos of switching back to “normal” English, this is the surprising story of how one bold classroom idea became a nationwide spelling headache.
Discussion Questions
- 1)When you think about learning as a child, can you imagine suddenly being asked to switch from one alphabet to another? What part of the ITA experiment do you think would have been the hardest for students?
- 2)Dr. Foley highlights how big educational changes are often launched without long-term follow-up. Why do you think schools adopt major new ideas so quickly—and abandon them just as fast?
- 3)If you could design a small, safe experiment to improve how reading or spelling is taught today, what would you try—and how would you make sure it didn’t become another ITA?
From the Contributor's Dock
Dr. Mark Foley
EffectiveSolutions.today
Dr. Mark Foley is the CEO of Effective Solutions, a consulting company that highly customizes engagement for corporate CEOs and Presidents to meet the needs of organizational development and effectiveness. Normally conducted through one-on-one coaching/teaching relationships over a defined period of time, Dr. Foley maintains a full schedule alongside
With a Ph.D. in Psychology and Counseling, he completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard University. In addition to maintaining a full schedule of clients and his contributions to the content of multiple docks at Wisdom Harbour, Dr. Foley is the President Emeritus of The University of Mobile.
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Holidays
Mable the Christmas Dog
By Leslie Anne Tarabella
Christmas was a little over a week away, but Mabel wasn’t going to make it to the end of the week. It’s never a good time to lose your pet, but during the holiday season, it’s gut-wrenchingly horrible. Especially when it’s the pet who helped raise your children. Mabel slept beneath my boy’s baby beds, listened while they learned to read, and ran along beside them through the swamps and gullies of Mobile Bay on wild adventures.
The pointy eared yellow mutt usually curled up beneath the Christmas tree each year and used it as her personal napping area. She always seemed to love Christmas. This year, she could barely walk across the room, much less find the twinkling tree. Since Mabel wasn’t eating or drinking and couldn’t walk, our vet said to bring her in on Tuesday morning for what would be a final goodbye.
We decided to wait and tell the boys after the fact, when they returned home from school on Tuesday afternoon, but there was one more problem. Joe, our youngest son, had ridden his bicycle downtown the week before, and using his own money, bought dog treats from the pet store. He wrapped the gift and placed it beneath the tree. We couldn’t let him come home to find his dog gone with the treats unopened, so on Monday night, we suggested, “You know, sometimes it’s fun to unwrap a present early. Since Mabel doesn’t feel well, let’s let her open her gift now.”
Joe knelt in front of his dog. Mabel sniffed the gift as her 10 year old boy helped her open the box. Shaking, Mabel looked at us with cloudy eyes, and at one point even stumbled and fell. My husband and I hid our tears. Then, almost out of politeness, Mabel took a bite of the treat. She nibbled it, then ate the other.
We all went to bed, and I think I cried most of the night, knowing what I would have to face the next morning. When the alarm sounded, I was already awake, praying, “God, why do our hearts have to be broken at Christmastime?”
And then, as I prepared breakfast, Mabel walked in and started slurping water out of her bowl, then came over and touched her nose to my leg. She seemed steady, so I put some food in her dish, and she began to eat. “Hey look! Mabel is eating!” the boys yelled as they came scampering into the room. Sure enough, Mabel was still an old, sick dog, but she had a new stability and clarity in her eyes.
We got the boys off to school and called the Veterinarian. “You aren’t going to believe this, but Mabel is a new dog this morning.”
“Did anything happen to her?” he asked.
“Well, Joe gave her a Christmas present last night.”
“I believe in Christmas miracles.” he said.
We were able to celebrate one last Christmas with Mabel, and she was almost her old self, snuggling beneath the tree once more, and wagging her tail as we opened gifts. But by the next Spring, she was gone. We’ll never know what gave her that last bit of determination to keep going, but of course, we believe that when you are truly loved at Christmas, miracles can happen.
From the Contributor's Dock
As a newspaper columnist and author of four books, Leslie Anne’s storytelling brims with humor and heart. Her weekly column ran for 10 years in multiple states and can now be found in various online and print publications. The Alabama Press Association awarded Leslie Anne a humor award for her ability to blend wit with meaningful insight. Her latest book, We Don’t Push in Fairhope, debuted as an Amazon bestseller and quickly became a sold-out favorite among fans of Southern humor. Contributing to Wisdom Harbour, Leslie Anne combines her background in education with her love of storytelling to bring us entertaining and helpful content.
Read more about Leslie Anne at LeslieAnneTarabella.com
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