Previously...
The Parents in the community in which I grew up highly valued education. During play time as a child, instead of being the Mother character, I was always the teacher. My younger sibling, friends and cousins had to sit while I 'taught' them a spelling lesson, using an old blackboard. It was no surprise in my community that we were asked what college we planned to attend and not whether we were going.
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Mom and Dad
My ability to proofread instinctively stems from my childhood. From, at least, third grade until my master's thesis, my Mom required me to run papers, projects, reports, anything, everything academic by my Dad before turning them in. It was standard at our home: you just did not submit schoolwork without having someone 'look it over.' My Dad was a New York City school principal. He corrected my work, teaching me about any incorrect grammar, misspelled words or misplaced punctuation. He caught my missteps in grammar and syntax throughout my primary to graduate school education.
Any paper I submitted had to be free of errors and had to look clean. My Father was big on making sure the appearance of the paper was good. He said it showed you respected the teacher and took the assignment seriously.
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Where did he get it?
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My Grandfather had my Dad and his younger sister read their homework to him every night. Yes, every night he said. The son of freed slaves, my Grandfather did not waste a moment with every opportunity for his children to study their lessons. [learn.] He took education very seriously. This event was significant, as it set in motion the family focus on education. His 'children' earned their doctorates, both paving the way for me to achieve my graduate degree. I can truly state that I have education in my blood.
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I was, also, greatly influenced in the area of spelling by my Godfather. He was an English teacher and also taught in the NYC public school system.
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My Mother made a positive impact on me. She had a great command of the correct spelling of words. She took particular pleasure in quizzing me on 'sounding out' and correctly spelling my vocabulary words, on a regular basis.
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Having well-written concepts clearly stated in my papers was fantastic. The appearance of my written work was half the battle. It does not mean I earned an A grade on every paper I submitted in college, but proofing became second nature. I was thrilled to have a concentration in Education in college. Study abroad in Spain and student teaching were the highlights of that four-year experience.
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Current Focus
As I pursued my doctoral degree, rewrites were as common as writing in the first place: there was an expectation that SOMETHING would have to be corrected. I honed my proofreading skills during this process of formal writing and, although frustrating at times, enjoyed the outcomes of a well-written, correctly punctuated academic paper.
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On the job, I was honored to be called upon often to 'look over' colleagues' written work. Furthermore, I was the secretary for several professional and community service organizations, being charged with making sure the fliers, minutes, letters and announcements sent out were clear and grammar-error free. I got a kick out of the fact that I did not need to use the spell-check feature on the computer.
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After an initial look at a paper, I evaluate its organization and appearance. Then, I begin the detailed work of checking each word against the backdrop of the paper's intended result. I keep current by taking proofreading courses. As a retiree, I still find proofreading something I naturally gravitate towards and consider it one of the things I take pride in doing well!