AIBU or should people who "brag" about not being able to spell should...

[blueemerald]

not write all over students' work being sent home??

I work in a special needs school. We have 8 students in our class aged 11-15 and the ability level ranges from 6-20 months (non-verbal, not toilet trained etc.).

There is another TA who "brags" about her dyslexia almost every day. Now of course I realise this is a tactic to cover an insecurity and I have every sympathy for her (I'm dyspraxic myself and have to think for a second to sort out my left from my right and so on).

Valentine's Day cards were made on Thursday (I use that unusual turn of phrase to highlight the fact that in most cases the students did not even see, let alone touch, the work produced).

My issue is that the TA with dyslexia took it upon herself (she was not asked to by anyone) to write 'Happy Valintines Day' or 'Happy Valntines Day' on the front of every card in big letters. My belief (when is comes to art/craft) is that if the child can't do then it doesn't get done (giving a margin for hand-over-hand work) but also what will the parents think?? (This is what I am hoping you will be able to tell me!) She also wrote the wrong combinations of Dear Mum/Dad/Mum and Dad etc... in most cards which will be awkward as two of our students' families have just gone through divorces.

I wouldn't volunteer to... lead a class in left and right (ok, stupid example but something where my dyspraxia would be a hindrance) so maybe she should stay away from writing on school work going home (Now I know I sound like a massive bitch but it's also from my stance on independent work!)

Sorry for such a long post on what probably seems really trivial to everyone else but, in conclusion, how would you feel if work come home that you knew your child was not capable of having done with mistakes or misspellings in?

I would probably not mind if I thought my child was being well taught and well cared for.

honestly?

I wouldn't care.

That is not me being a cow, I am not dismissing your pov, you do care and that is your right, but since you asked how others would feel, I got to tell you - wouldn't give a shit.

The problem I have is that in the depths of my judgey heart I know that seeing 'Valentine's' misspellt on a card (with no idea who had written or seen it (teacher or TA)) would make me question the standard of teaching in the class.

Well I'd care very much if my kids were being taught to spell badly

I know a lad who designed a fab painting, he is non verbal and cannot control his hands. However, he communicated how we wanted it done, and his one to one staff at his day centre did as he asked. It took months, but it's all his own ideas and thoughts.

It's a shame that you think "if the child can't do it then it doesn't get done"

And I wouldn't mind a spelling mistake on a card as long as I knew DS had some input

raffle That's almost exactly my point. own ideas and thoughts I'd rather send home a piece of card with some red glitter splodged all over it that Billy had done by himself then a folded piece of card with a glitter heart and a paper rose cut out that his TA had done.

Also, most the students had no input whatsoever and the writing was the icing on the implausible cake.

Who brags about not being able to spell?

IME it's much more common/acceptable to say "oh I'm rubbish at maths" than it is to say "I'm rubbish at reading/writing".

Yes, but the finer points of reading writing and rithmatic aren't going to be the most important things you teach these children, are they? I honestly wouldn't bat an eyelid if my daughter's pre-school sent this sort of misspelling home. I haven't chosen it for the quality of the teachers' spelling. I bet the parents care only that their children are getting well taught at their developmental level and being respected and valued and well-liked.

ability level ranges from 6-20 months

be glaringly obvious to the parents as to who was helping and why TBH

YABU

Ok- the students having no input thing would bother me a bit. Far nicer to have something their child had contributed to, I agree.

I don't think her spelling matters in this context tbh. I normally would moan about kids being taught the wrong spellings etc, but in this case, where you have teenagers who are non verbal and have other needs, I would prefer a TA who has the necessary skills and empathy to work with these kids, as opposed to shit hot spelling, tbh.

So in this case I wouldn't give a monkeys.

Ah, so you didn't mean it as it sounded, marvellous!

Whenever anyone asks the room in general how to spell something she'll always respond 'oh, I could never spell that" {giggle giggle} or if we're talking about school etc (we're a new class so none of us knew each other before September) she'll always bring up that she was bad at spelling at school but good at maths. Or she'll start conversations "With my dyslexia....." "Cos of my dyslexia..." etc
Bragging isn't quite the right word...

troisgarcons What I meant by that was perhaps I could overlook a TA misspelling it but if the teacher had done so I would have a bigger problem with it? I'm willing to admit that might be unfair though.

I think you guys are right about prioritising skills though. She is really good at the empathetic parts of the job. Another concern (sorry, drip drip ) is that the other classes are higher ability and can read and write at a basic level but hopefully she will stay with our current class as she is well suited to them.

Sorry, I have judgey pants and I don't seem to be able to take them off.

When DD was at nursery, I had to literally take a deep breath and let it pass when they sent home "reports" etc. with spelling errors, and convince myself that they were just teaching my daughter letters, not how to spell (thank goodness). I was always pleased with things that were so obviously her own work, however it s good for her to have "help" with things in order to get the experiences.

Now she is at school, I would expect correct spelling from teachers & TAs.

I can honestly say that the majority of people who I have worked with who have said they are dyslexic have bent over backwards to ensure their written work is of a high standard. Maybe these people are just more motivated to overcome their dyslexia, but that's the way it was. If I had something which meant I couldn't do certain things, I'd ask for help (e.g. ask someone to write it out for me so I could copy it), not blunder in regardless (almost showing off how bad they are, by the tone of the OP). I'm one of those people who things spelling is important.

I'm sure it is obvious to the parents that their child has not written it, so I think it would be nice if it was done coreectly.

Grrr... knocked Post Message...

Correctly, not coreectly!!

I was going to add that given the abilities of the children, her temperament would be more important, ultimately, and I'm sure the parents would feel the same way.

Yes, I'd be annoyed if it happened to me, but my DD does not have that level of special needs, so I think it would be different if she did.

I have a dyslexic niece who "brags" about not being able to spell {giggle giggle}.

She's (a very young) 19 and its very obviously an immature defence mechanism against failing.

She also talks about things she was good at - because she thinks otherwise people will think she is entirely incapable as she struggles with reading/writing.

She is studying childcare at the moment, I hope she ends up in a more open and support environment than you class.

I think YABU to criticise her spelling as with this ability group it is not a big issue for the students.

Whether a students work should be totally the work of the student or with help from TA's is a different issue all together and one which different TA's will have different personal opinions on.

I would rather have had a card from school which ds had done himself, but wouldnt have minded if he had a little help.

Lindax

With respect this woman is not a young 19 year but nearly 10 years older (older than me and has 3 children). If she had asked for help or support or even told anyone what she wanted to do then any of us would have loved to help her just like she helps us when we need it. I just would have thought if you knew your spelling wasn't that strong, wouldn't you check?

I also believe that thinking SEN students don't deserve correct spellings is quite disrespectful. They deserve the same standards as any other child. Every Child Matters.

Also some input and a little help when I've pointed out several times that apart from my student and one other student/TA pair none of the students looked at the work. Some weren't even in the chair at the time!

Don't you think she was employed for skills you may not yet have developed? Compassion springs to mind.

What would you like this woman to do? give up her job where she is clearly supportive of those less able? Mind you, working with someone like you perpetually eye-rolling everytime she opens her mouth, I'm not surprised she's defensive albeit in a self effacing way.

Go and report her if it makes you feel so sodding superior.

Oh for goodness sake troisgarcon stop being so melodramatic. If you'd read my posts properly and thought before you posted you'd realise I'm not like that at all. You don't get far in special education with a superiority complex.

There is a huge difference between a charmingly misspelt card produced by your beloved child and one produced solely by a teacher or carer. What is the point of work that has no input from the child? Yes, I would expect a teacher or carer to be able to spell. It is a couple of words and they can be looked up or spellchecked. Wrong combination of parents can cause irritation and is just sloppy.

That said, perhaps it could be discussed gently...explaining your discomfort?

No, no PunkatHeart I would never say anything because it's certainly not my place and I think she'd be mortified. I think the class teacher might though.

In one of schools I worked in, there was a 1-1 ta who did all the work for the child she worked with. She was 'proud' of not being able to spell. I had reservations (never voiced) that alot of the work being sent home (especially cards) had very little input from the child. Ultimately, it's not so much about whether she can spell or not, it's that by taking over the task she's missing the point, and I would be a bit if I was a parent, because I would rather it be the child's work than child-like work by an adult iyswim. Fwiw, I think you're right, and if she decided to do it herself she should have checked the spelling. It is desrespectful to the children and insulting to the parents imho.

YANBU to care about the cards, imo.

I agree that it doesn't matter how bad this woman's spelling is and also that her 'bragging' is probably a preemptive strike against being criticised. I wouldn't mind if her writing, including writing sent home to parents, had lots of spelling mistakes in it.

But on a card that only has 3 words on it I think a spelling mistake is sloppy and unacceptable. Especially on a word like Valentine; it isn't the easiest word in the world and therefore she should have known that there was a high chance she would spell it wrong and look it up. Not doing so is just lazy and shows a disrespect towards your pupils and their families.