Spelling mistakes, etc

I know the idea of correct spelling and such like strikes some people as a rather pedantic. Perhaps it is but my fear is that inattention to such minutiae is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. Here is an example from my recent reading.

The Story of Everything by Jared C Wilson published by Crossway, page 13. Just over halfway down there is a reference to a "stunning climatic scene" in a film. A "stunning climactic scene" surely. See here.

More controversially I was surprised to see in Grace Alone Salvation as a gift of God by Carl Trueman published by Zondervan, page 128, that Luther strived for many years to gain assurance. I would have thought the strong form strove the obvious word to prefer there but I may just be out of sync there.

PS We have plenty of typos on this blog, which I try to correct but these are mistakes (or not mistakes in the case of the second example) not typos.

(I was going to include here Martin Luther Renegade and Prophet by Lyndal Roper published by Bodley Head, page 346 . At the beginning of the section on Anabaptists comes a reference to "ideas of millenarian violence". I thought it should be millennarian (as in Millennialism) but apparently not.

Grammar Schools

I've been thinking of doing a post on Grammar Schools and as I have five minutes I thought I'd go for it. In 1970 (or whatever year it was) I sat the 11 plus. I have the vaguest memories of it. Some kid had seen the chairs and desks were arranged differently (I think we did it in the classroom not the hall - I can't remember if there was more than one separate session). My parents had spoken about it to me and my mother had bought me non-verbal reasoning tests so I was familiar with them. Up until that point I had always wondered if I was thick or clever (I then held to the theory that everyone is one or the other). My confusion arises from being quite good with words but hopeless with numbers.

Once I passed the 11-plus and got to the school of my choice I was confirmed in my notion that I was actually bright. I remember my mother's delight that I had done so well. I remember the post coming and making the choice from Croesyceiliog, our local, West Mon (boys only) and Abersychan (so far up the valley I'd never been there - and they wore brown uniforms). The choice was not hard as I had no wish to travel on a bus daily. I did get my first choice but what we seemed to be unaware of was that Croesy would no longer be a Grammar by the time I got there. I do remember being treated like a Grammar kid at the beginning, however. We were left in no doubt that we were special, and considering there were kids from as far up the valley as Blaenavon it was believable.

I pretty much remember which school most of my class and the one next door went to, even kids I never saw again. A lot is made of how damaging it is to label kids failures at the tender age of 11. In my case the problem was labelling me clever when in fact I was pretty average. I worked it out, eventually, of course.

The basic flaw with the Grammar idea is that you cannot take a child at 11 and know what sort of career lies ahead for it. It's nonsense. I'm not a strong advocate of Comprehensives but for most of us that is the most likely way to make progress.