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What do you do when a teacher is wrong?

147 replies

RequiresUpdating · 26/05/2023 20:56

Say your DC writes something that is more or less correct. And the teacher marks it wrong and corrects it with such a glaringly obvious mistake that you are a bit shocked. What do you do?

DD took it back to the teacher and asked her to look at it again and that what she had written was right, but the correction wasn't. Teacher said it was and DD's answer was also wrong (it wasn't).

How do you handle this?
Is it better to explain to DD that the teacher is wrong and people often don't like being told they're wrong which was why she refused to correct the marks? And leave it at that - that the teacher is wrong, some people refuse to apologise etc life lesson. I feel this would be a pity as DD really likes this teacher and was shocked when she was dismissive of her.

Do I call the teacher and speak with her and give her a chance to apologise to DD?

Call the teacher and ask her how she wants to handle it? If she wants to apologise or if she's sticking by her response to DD so I have to explain the above.

I don't even know if it should be raised higher, as the correction she wrote on DD's work shows such a level of incompetence about the basics of the subject she's supposed to be teaching the class, that we're wondering what else she's teaching them. I feel a bit sorry for her, she's newly qualified, DD's isn't the easiest of classes and I know other parents aren't happy with her, but I don't think many have officially complained.

OP posts:
Cam22 · 27/05/2023 16:56

Oh and “Teacher here.” reminds me of “Man here” as used by the odd, Mumsnet male poster. 😆

Cam22 · 27/05/2023 16:57

Iamnotthe1 · 27/05/2023 16:55

MMMarmite
Honestly although it's disappointing, a lot of primary school teachers don't understand much science.

Bold statement: do you have any research or statistics to support it?

A sweeping statement, to boot!

Malbecfan · 27/05/2023 17:28

Cam22 · 27/05/2023 16:56

Oh and “Teacher here.” reminds me of “Man here” as used by the odd, Mumsnet male poster. 😆

Seems like I touched a nerve. I'm not sure why you have to be so rude.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

MerelySnark · 27/05/2023 17:32

Iamnotthe1 · 27/05/2023 12:47

redskylight
It's -3+10 (but you probably don't mention negative numbers in primary school).

Negative numbers are taught in Y4 when children are 8.

BODMAS is better taught by saying division and multiplication have equal precedence and addition and subtraction also have equal precedence.

That is how it is most commonly taught.

Yes, and when you have equal precedence you proceed from left to right.

B
O (or I, for indices)( or E, for exponent)
DM
AS

eg
50 x 8 ÷ 40
= 400 ÷ 40
= 10

But, for clarity and not when teaching BIDMAS, I’d set up the expression with brackets.
eg (50 x 8) ÷ 40.

SmurfHaribos · 27/05/2023 17:39

Why is this even a debate. All humans make mistakes, I don’t know why you don’t know this OP. Have you never made a mistake?
This will have been the tiniest tiniest part of the teachers day. She probably had 5 kids wittering in her ear at the same time as marking it or maybe was really tired.
Why on earth are you making it such a big deal and putting it on MN? Move on by and don’t be so petty.
Instead of showing the teacher up on social media, why don’t you do something nice for her? Teaching is a really hard job and hardly anyone wants to do it.
Treasure the teachers you do have, we really can’t afford for anyone else to leave. Petty rubbish like this can be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Cam22 · 27/05/2023 17:57

Malbecfan · 27/05/2023 17:28

Seems like I touched a nerve. I'm not sure why you have to be so rude.

Touched a nerve? Why on earth do you say that? How very odd. You are rude to call me rude, incidentally. Kitchen and heat spring to mind…

FedUpWithTheNHS · 27/05/2023 17:58

Honestly although it's disappointing, a lot of primary school teachers don't understand much science.

That certainly was tte case of my dcs primary teachers.
And I’m not talking about French classes done by teachers who didn’t have a GCSE in French (or so long ago and it was worth nothing). Or music.

I think sometimes, the system is asking too much from the teachers.

As for it being ‘basic science’, I can promise you it’s not basic fir most people to talk about positive and negative charges, electrons etc…. Grin

TeenDivided · 27/05/2023 18:41

@clary I have no idea which bit gets a positive charge and which bit gets the negative charge. What I do know is that as the hairs gets the same charge they repel each other, but are attracted to the balloon.

I think it is OK for primary teachers not to have in depth knowledge. But they should have an idea what they are/aren't secure on and if challenged double check.

And they should all know BODMAS

clary · 27/05/2023 19:41

TeenDivided · 27/05/2023 18:41

@clary I have no idea which bit gets a positive charge and which bit gets the negative charge. What I do know is that as the hairs gets the same charge they repel each other, but are attracted to the balloon.

I think it is OK for primary teachers not to have in depth knowledge. But they should have an idea what they are/aren't secure on and if challenged double check.

And they should all know BODMAS

Yes I agree. I think the refusal to accept she may be wrong is the worst thing.

And Yy they should know BODMAS. Fgs I know that, and I’m just an MFL-er who dabbles a bit in English Grin

Soontobe60 · 27/05/2023 19:44

EnidSpyton · 26/05/2023 21:48

A teacher's job is to be an expert in what they're teaching. If they don't have an adequate grasp of what they're teaching and are imparting incorrect information to pupils - and refusing to admit/acknowledge/recognise when they have made a mistake, then they are not doing their job properly and have no business being in front of a class.

I would take this straight to the Headteacher, with evidence, and ask them to deal with it.

I'm afraid that, as a teacher with 10+ years of experience, the standards in teaching have been going down considerably over my years in the profession. Anyone with a pulse, particularly in primary, is accepted onto training courses, and the academic standards of a lot of entrants is low. You can be accepted onto BA Primary degrees at some universities with CDD in your A Levels. Many teachers I've come across in my career have been sorely lacking in basic literacy and numeracy skills, with very poor general knowledge. Being a teacher is not an indication of academic ability anymore, unfortunately.

I bet your colleagues loved you!

EnidSpyton · 27/05/2023 20:53

Soontobe60 · 27/05/2023 19:44

I bet your colleagues loved you!

They do, actually!

Those of us who really care about our profession are increasingly concerned at the poor quality of many NQTs. When I trained, it was a competitive process to get onto a PGCE course. Now anyone who applies is accepted because they don't have enough applications to fill the cohorts in the first place, and people with qualifications that would never have been accepted ten years ago (such as 2:2 degrees) are being allowed to train. This is more in secondary than primary, and particularly in sciences and maths. This is a problem because we're in the business of teaching academic knowledge to young people. If you can't pass exams, how can you teach children to do so?

It's a shame more people aren't concerned about the dumbing down of standards. Particularly in secondary science and maths, you'll be lucky if your child is taught by someone with an A Level in the subject, let alone a degree.

cakeorwine · 27/05/2023 21:04

Is atomic structure and electrons on the KS2 primary curriculum?

Amdecre · 27/05/2023 22:38

cakeorwine · 27/05/2023 21:04

Is atomic structure and electrons on the KS2 primary curriculum?

No. Forces isn't even a Y6 topic so I don't know why they are doing it. Here are the Y5 national curriculum statements:

Forces
Pupils should be taught to:

  • explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object
  • identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction, that act between moving surfaces
  • recognise that some mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect

I think it's fair enough a teacher wouldn't know a lot about something that goes beyond the KS2 curriculum.

Shinyandnew1 · 28/05/2023 10:09

So, why was the school teaching about atomic structure and electrons when it’s not on the primary curriculum-that’s the question I’d be asking!?

cakeorwine · 28/05/2023 10:18

Does your daughter know why they move from one object to the other object? Why do they not go the other way round?
Does she understand what an electric charge is anyway?
Or an electron for that matter?
And the difference between insulators and conductors?

Electrostatic sparks and shocks - Electricity - KS3 Physics - BBC Bitesize - BBC Bitesize

It's more KS3 science than KS2. Where science is taught by specialist science teachers.

Electrostatic sparks and shocks

When charged objects discharge suddenly, an electrostatic spark is formed. Find out more with BBC Bitesize. For students between the ages of 11 and 14.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zgy39j6/articles/z4h94xs

Tegrate · 28/05/2023 10:39

fUNNYfACE36 · 27/05/2023 00:14

Op have you never made a mistake and said the wrong word?

Everybody makes mistakes - some people struggle to admit they are wrong, it's a big weakness on the teacher's part, but I'm not sure the OP can fix that. I like to encourage my kids to challenge when they think something is wrong and to understand that some people's insecurity will never allow them to admit it.

Iamnotthe1 · 28/05/2023 10:41

It's more KS3 science than KS2. Where science is taught by specialist science teachers.

If only that were true. Unfortunately the retention and recruitment crisis in education mean that a number of KS3 classes are taught by cover supervisors. They are neither specialists nor qualified teachers.

RequiresUpdating · 28/05/2023 13:24

Although not relevant to the question, it is on their syllabus and DD will have the same teacher next year, as she will move to secondary when she is 12.

OP posts:
Shinyandnew1 · 28/05/2023 13:28

Although not relevant to the question, it is on their syllabus and DD will have the same teacher next year, as she will move to secondary when she is 12.

Is this a private school?

RequiresUpdating · 28/05/2023 13:30

No, it is a state school. And still not really relevant to the question!

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 28/05/2023 13:36

I see that there are people still thinking that beggars can be choosers when it comes to teachers in state schools.

Amdecre · 29/05/2023 09:09

Shinyandnew1 · 28/05/2023 13:28

Although not relevant to the question, it is on their syllabus and DD will have the same teacher next year, as she will move to secondary when she is 12.

Is this a private school?

Apologies, are you in Scotland? I linked the National Curriculum 2014 for England, not the Curriculum for Excellence.

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