# Teachers should know the difference between "capitol" and "capital" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 23, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487 "2010-03-23T15:54:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/21 "2010-03-24T00:27:16Z")
Capitol only has one meaning, it’s the building. Capital letters, capital city, and capital assets all use the “a”. Pretty hard to screw up. I see forward / foreword screwed up a lot too. Foreword refers to the beginning part of a book. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/22 "2010-03-24T00:31:09Z")
I once had an English Translation teacher (in professional school) who misused “disinterested” for “uninterested” in an assignment. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/23 "2010-03-24T00:47:21Z")
Back in the mid 1980’s Clinton was my governor. He appointed Hillary to chair an education panel. They put together a law that required teacher testing. It wasn’t all that hard. They just wanted to raise the standards. At that time many of the older black teachers had been educated in segregated schools in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. The schools were underfunded and not very good. Teacher testing gave everyone a chance to brush up on stuff they hadn’t studied in 30 plus years. Well, the teacher’s union went ape shit. :eek: They thought it was a slap in their face. But, they put together some summer brush up classes (taught by volunteers). Most teachers passed the test and some retired. The law was repealed after a few years. The teacher’s union has a lot of power. It’s funny that as a computer analyst, I’m always expected to study and stay current. I’ve earned certification in several areas. I don’t see why teachers don’t do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/24 "2010-03-24T01:24:32Z")
> [@tetranz](#): > > My step daughter’s high school math teacher puts apostrophes in plurals. I recently had to tolerate [this](http://subject2change.ca/blog/?p=48). All of the printed material is like that. You’d think at some point, someone would tell the guy… but it seems that the sort of people who take these courses have a high tolerance for this sort of abuse. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/25 "2010-03-24T02:52:25Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I once had an English Translation teacher (in professional school) who misused “disinterested” for “uninterested” in an assignment. _sigh_ That’s a pretty common error and is very frequently made in professional writing. I’d venture to say at least nine in ten English speakers don’t know the difference. I’m not saying it’s not an error, but I wouldn’t question someone’s literacy for that one. A teacher who puts apostrophes in plurals, now that’s concerning. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/26 "2010-03-24T11:53:18Z")
At work I have to read a lot of questionnaires that have been filled out by teachers. You wouldn’t BELIEVE the atrocious grammar and spelling I’ve seen. How these people passed English 101 is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/27 "2010-03-24T12:02:02Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > Eh. Not that the internet is a great source of grammar info, but it seems that New Mexico State Capitol building is capitalized. Still, the O vs. A is what’s irritating. > > My 2nd grader’s teacher sent back his essay about a trip to St. Louis with every single “St. Louis” corrected to “St. Lewis.” :rolleyes: This bothers me more than the others. I mean, it’s one thing for teachers just to use improper grammar/spelling. It’s another when they actually correct incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/28 "2010-03-24T15:05:56Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I once had an English Translation teacher (in professional school) who misused “disinterested” for “uninterested” in an assignment. _sigh_ Sounds like a case of picking nits to me, since they now share a definition. It’s one of the many cases where neither one is wrong, but one is more right than the other. “I feel nauseous,” and “I feel nauseated,” being another example of that gray area. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/29 "2010-03-24T15:24:08Z")
> [@thirdwarning](#): > > You should have sent it back to the principal. Only if he is a person of principle. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/30 "2010-03-24T15:55:31Z")
Many years ago, my mother mentioned to my sister’s 2nd Grade teacher that we were going to Gettysburg over spring vacation. To which she replied, “oh, Virginia is lovely this time of year.” ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/31 "2010-03-24T16:44:23Z")
> [@WreckingCrew](#): > > Many years ago, my mother mentioned to my sister’s 2nd Grade teacher that we were going to Gettysburg over spring vacation. To which she replied, “oh, Virginia is lovely this time of year.” Is your last name Lee? Maybe she was just remembering how the last Lee expedition to Gettysburg turned out. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/32 "2010-03-24T16:47:27Z")
While I realize that the whole I-was-smarter-than-my-teacher-nya-nya-nya refrain is bread-and-butter for the Dope, I feel that spelling and punctuation (especially on a social networking site) should be of less concern than simply not understanding pedagogy. Some of the best spellers in the classroom don’t know much about actually teaching. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/33 "2010-03-24T18:51:18Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That’s a pretty common error and is very frequently made in professional writing. I’d venture to say at least nine in ten English speakers don’t know the difference. > > I’m not saying it’s not an error, but I wouldn’t question someone’s literacy for that one. A teacher who puts apostrophes in plurals, now that’s concerning. It’s just that she was holding herself out as someone who teaches English to people in the running to become language professionals. You’d think she would have at least _heard_ of the rule, which she completely failed to recognize when I brought it up with her. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/34 "2010-03-24T19:31:50Z")
I’ve got many stories of grade-school teachers saying or doing things that indicate they’re not as smart as some of the kids. My favorite is the teacher who spelled Egypt “Eygpt” and could not accept that he was wrong even when shown the evidence in two dictionaries. He made a point of announcing to the class that he had found his spelling in an older dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/35 "2010-03-24T22:12:27Z")
Some years back I attended a performance by [The Capitol Steps](http://www.capsteps.com/). After the show I was standing in line to buy a CD, and the person in front of me was writing out a check. She looked up at the guy behind the table (a member of the troupe) and asked whether “Capitol” should be spelled with an a or an o. The guy shrugged his shoulders and said he had no idea. Considering that all members of The Capitol Steps are former (or current) congressional staff workers, you’d think \*they \*would know the difference. For the record, “capitol” is derived from the Capitolium (also known as the Capitoline Hill), the highest of Rome’s seven hills and the site of its most important temples. “Capital”, is derived from _capit_, meaning “head”. The difference is largely in the minds of proscriptive wordsmiths, however, as Capitolium ultimately derived from _capit_ as well. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/36 "2010-03-25T12:08:28Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > I used to be wary of “firing the bad teachers” as a solution to education problems. But if errors \*this \*egregious are becoming more than isolated incidents, then perhaps I need to rethink my position. Well, if you are okay with average class sizes of several hundred… ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/37 "2010-03-25T12:34:15Z")
“Those who can’t do, teach” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Negative\_Lite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Negative\_Lite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Negative_Lite)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/38 "2010-03-25T12:57:49Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > I once had an English Translation teacher (in professional school) who misused “disinterested” for “uninterested” in an assignment. _sigh_ There’s no hard and fast rule requiring one to reserve “disinterested” for the ethical sense of “impartial; free from improper interest.” It is at best a preference advanced by a minority of modernizing reformers. If you open any decent dictionary, you’ll see that disinterested has a few common meanings, first among them the sense of “bored; uninterested.” [Cite with references to the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Concise Dictionary of English Usage](http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=511) ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/39 "2010-03-25T13:48:29Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Well, if you are okay with average class sizes of several hundred… What’s the problem with that? I’ve lectured to classes of that size before…😉 Seriously, though, in my mind the other part of “firing the bad teachers” is hiring potentially better ones to take their place.I don’t know how the job market is for education majors. If we’re barely able to keep current staffing levels as is, then simply “firing the bad ones” wouldn’t be a good solution, I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487/40 "2010-03-25T14:33:10Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Cite, please. And by “nearly,” do you mean second lowest? Third lowest? In the bottom half? Bottom third? How are you divvying up majors? Is this across the United States, or just one school? It’s been a while since I’ve seen the results and a quick Google search turned up some info to verify my statement, but not to the extent I would like. Last time I read an in-depth article on the topic, education majors were just a little above sociology majors. They were certainly lower than the 25th percentile. When I have some more time I’ll try to dig up some fairly recent stats. What I just found had education majors at next-to-lowest, just barely above aviation majors for some school in TN. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teachers-should-know-the-difference-between-capitol-and-capital/533487.md?page=3)