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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not have corrected teacher?

155 replies

Snowyelephantshavewrinkles · 01/07/2013 17:51

I sat in a KS1 Geography lesson today.
We were looking at the country Spain.
Teacher told the children that never snowed there and that the only way to get there was to fly.
What about the Pyrenees?

Have you heard of a ferry?
Hmm

OP posts:
Gruntfuttock · 02/07/2013 17:31

SneezySnatcher, what did she think was purpose of the apostrophe she used?

HalfSpamHalfBrisket · 02/07/2013 17:53

I teach reception. I gently keep an eye on my TA as her general knowledge is not that brilliant & so I try to make sure she's secure on on concepts we are teaching. For example, addressing the misconception that things "sink if they are heavy and float if they are light".
Also, not many TAs (and some teachers!) realise that a square is also a rectangle. So when a child gets told "No! that's not a rectangle, it's a square" I jump in. (Never too young to get mathematical terminology correct!)
I am sure I make some howlers too though.

kim147 · 02/07/2013 17:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SneezySnatcher · 02/07/2013 18:15

Grunt she thought it was necessary to add an apostrophe before an S when pluralising words e.g. 1 cat - 2 cat's. it's not uncommon (I've seen it on here and the famous "grocer's apostrophe") but for a teacher?

kim147 · 02/07/2013 18:17

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

quoteunquote · 02/07/2013 18:25

when I am teaching, running courses, almost the first thing i say is,

There is two parts to the homework today, at various points I will be giving you some inaccurate information during the course, I would like you to produce evidence to support the correct information, for tomorrow/next week.

I will give you the second part at the end,

second part, as when a question i can't answer immediately comes up ,

I would like everyone to come up with a solution supported by evidence to the very interesting point John has just made, thanks John.

This way they have to listen to everything I say, take good notes, and process it, and research it, and they then supply me with updated information.

I always slip something in there that is wrong, but it is amazing what they come back with, and far they look into something when they are trying to find a wrong, it makes people think.

VigourMortis · 02/07/2013 18:38

I paid a lot of hard-earned money for an MA and we were given a geopolitics teacher who made all manner of errors including insisting the Boers were German. I questioned this and he then conceded that some of them were definitely German, although maybe not all Confused. Someone else chipped in and said she was pretty sure only a very minor constituent could possibly have hailed from Germany. I hope he checked his facts better after that.

DH did an MA which included a basic course in logic. DH has already done logic to a much higher level as part of another course and has actually taught it. The teacher made a mistake that DP couldn't believe, it was so basic. He picked him up on it in the class and the teacher tried to bluff his way out, quite pompously - Ah, I know why you would make that mistake, etc. but DH insisted. It carried on by email that night, with DH emailing solid references for him to check and see it was an error. Eventually the guy conceded it was an error but asked DH if he (the teacher) could carry on saying he was right in class, and have DH admit he was wrong, so as not to look foolish. I mean, WTF!

VigourMortis · 02/07/2013 18:40

Bravo to the teacher who posted above that they offer points for those who spot an error. You can't learn without making mistakes.

Eyesunderarock · 02/07/2013 19:42

'Bravo to the teacher who posted above that they offer points for those who spot an error. You can't learn without making mistakes.'

That goes for the teacher as well, you need to model that if you have made a mistake then the mature thing to do is verify your information, own the error, work out why you made it and correct it.
Not pretend it never happened, or try and swagger your way out of it.

bigbuttons · 02/07/2013 19:47

Dc6 who is 6, left handed, finds writing really difficult, came home with a sheet of handwriting/spelling practice he had been doing at school. He had been copying three words written by hand( someone adult at school) in cursive script. 2 of the words had the letter T written at the incorrect height. So he copying this handwriting as an exemplar and it is not written properly. I am itching to take it in and say something.

VigourMortis · 02/07/2013 19:51

Eyesunder quite. I definitely lost respect for my teacher because he refused to admit he had got it wrong and that wouldn't have been the case if he'd been straight with us.

RedHelenB · 02/07/2013 21:02

Well, Spain were definitely leaning towards the Fascism side of politics in the second world war & we did view Russia as the enemy being Communists so not entirely incorrect!!

There are errors that are plainly wrong ( like apostrophes in the wrong places) and errors that maybe very loose4 that can be tightened up as a child gets older ( eg, weight & mass or the square/rectangle)

EllenJanesthickerknickers · 02/07/2013 21:24

Yes, I knew that Spain was fascist, obviously, after the Spanish Civil War, but they were actually officially neutral during WW2. And while we were not exactly enamoured of Russia, if they hadn't been fighting Germany towards the end of the war there may well have been a different outcome to WW2. But this teacher (deputy head) had no idea.

pleiadianpony · 02/07/2013 21:25

Fucking hell................where is this teacher from?? Royston Vasey?

badguider · 02/07/2013 21:30

Hmmm.... I've got pictures of us cross-country skiing in Spain... I guess it does snow :)

HalfSpamHalfBrisket · 02/07/2013 21:33

RedHelenB: You can do it though, and we were always encouraged on our early years PGCE to challenge the children's misconceptions (... and the 2 I mentioned were by adults who weren't doing it to simplify it for the children, but because their own knowledge was incorrect/incomplete).

There are ways to explain at an appropriate level for reception:

  • "Some things are heavy for their size, and so sink, and some are light for their size, and so float". The children do get this. I challenge them to change the shape of foil into balls and boats etc to see if they can get the same piece to float and sink. Yup, I'm not going into density/surface area but this helps them cope with the fact that very heavy boats float.

  • "Squares are "special" rectangles where the sides are all the same length". They then get challenged to use a stick or a ruler to find out if rectangles are squares or not. I tell some about right angles, whilst others just run around playing light sabres with the rulers. Both fine!

And on the making mistakes point, I always tell them if I can't answer a question and ask them for their ideas on how we could find out the answer (...to encourage them to look in books, use the internet, ask a different adult etc.). I am quite happy to be proved wrong as well, and to let a child sit in my chair and take over if they know more than me.

RedHelenB · 02/07/2013 22:13

I get what you're saying, but as a teacher it is your assessment at the time as to what information you give & in how great a detail. Get too bogged down in the minutiae & the main point of what you are teaching can be lost. we called rectangles oblongs when I was at school but it didn't stop me from using the term rectangle later on & knowing it includes squares!

From the OP I was just pointing out that it was unclear as to whether the teacher didn't know you could get there by ferry or if she just wanted to make the point that it was a far enough distance away to use the plane. Hence there may not necessarily be the need to correct her!

ZZZenagain · 02/07/2013 22:23

teaching dc the healing power of pyramids! N ow that is one I haven't come up against.

ZZZenagain · 02/07/2013 22:28

you know that no snow in Spain one, you'd think the name Sierra nevada would be a bit of a give away. I suppose snow is not the first image that springs to mind when you think of Spain but it takes almost no time to do a quick internet search and find out the facts.

maddy68 · 03/07/2013 11:09

I think at that age the teacher will have just simplified facts to help their understanding
So Spain you get there on a plane (true not the only way but makes it easy did the kids to realise its s long way away)
No snow ( a hot country)

Eyesunderarock · 03/07/2013 12:30

You can simplify things, but you don't give inaccurate information. Confused
'There are different ways to get to Spain, but we are going to think about planes'
You get the most surreal conversations with KS1 Smile

'You can get there by Elephant, Hannibal did'
'What about by hot air balloon?'
You could swim if you were really really good at it, like an Olympic swimmer'

LaGuardia · 03/07/2013 13:38

How about hot air balloon? Helicopter? I can't be arsed to think of anymore

BadLad · 04/07/2013 02:22

when I am teaching, running courses, almost the first thing i say is,

There is two parts to the homework today, at various points I will be giving you some inaccurate information during the course, I would like you to produce evidence to support the correct information, for tomorrow/next week.

I always slip something in there that is wrong, but it is amazing what they come back with, and far they look into something when they are trying to find a wrong, it makes people think.

I saw it. There ARE two parts...

Lweji · 04/07/2013 06:40

'You can get there by Elephant, Hannibal did'

What from the UK?
And do you think the elephants crossed the Gibraltar straight by themselves? With Hannibal on their backs?
Grin

KingRollo · 04/07/2013 06:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.