I remember a middle school essay I wrote. Well, actually, I don’t. I do remember the teacher’s correction. She wielded her red pen to explain that she docked my grade for misspelling the word “truly” seven times (truely). I wanted to ask her two questions.

• Since I thought I’d spelled it correctly the first time, why would I spell it any other way subsequently? (The essay was written in longhand, before pre-spellchecking existed.)
• Why did she not justifiably criticize my overuse of the word? (It was a short essay.)

In fairness to Mrs. Alexander, I never mispelled “truly” again.

What lessons are you learning that you aren’t actually (truly?) being taught?

Quick Quips are a developing feature of the Walter Writes Blog, which explores simplicity in a complicated world.