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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to correct a word written by the teacher in my ds' spelling book?

80 replies

PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 18:17

Gawd, I have actually just done it anyway, but I have the fear (slightly). Not the fear of being wrong I am never wrong, more the feeling that correcting the teacher is not quite the done thing.

Anyway, she wrote "wack" for my son to copy. Now, I have never heard of whack (I'm presuming) being spelled this way, so I googled it and it does exist, albeit as some kind of American, tut slang, as in "She looked wack". -This is a compliment, apparently.

Whilst writing this, I have realised that there are two strands to this AIBU. First, as above. The second is AIBU to be such an old gimmer that I do not realise that street lingo is all da rage. In Cornwall. Amongst primary school teachers.

Go on then, tell me what you think.

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Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 20:22

I'm worried now. Am off to check if it could've been wrack...never thought of that.

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HumphreyCobbler · 25/09/2013 20:23

I only suggest going into see the teacher if there is a problem with their standard of spelling in general. If this is the case there is a real problem as OBVIOUSLY a teacher should be able to spell.

The odd mistake is inevitable and should be overlooked, or adjusted to ensure the child does not learn an incorrect spelling. Correcting in red pen is always mentioned on these type of threads in a really spiteful way, a 'Look, you bloody teacher, YOU GOT THIS WRONG.'

People tend to delight in a teacher spelling error. It seems make some positively gleeful to be so superior about it. I see it on Facebook occasionally. I don't think the OP was doing this btw, but people DO all the time.

Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 20:29

No, not wrack.

And thank you, HC, I am certainly not delighting in it, you are right. I thought it was funny, that at 45 birthday last week, where are my presents, I'm still slightly sort of "ooh, should I correct a teacher...!".

I think I should have done here, but I certainly didn't, and wouldn't do it, with glee.

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Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 20:30

I use the strike out far too much. I'm annoying myself.

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MyBoysAreFab · 25/09/2013 20:36

Teachers are only human, however, I have to say I would have a higher expectation of the standard of spelling from a teacher than from many other professions..

In primary school, DS1's teacher would quite often spell words wrongly in his homework book, including on several occasions, his name It did irritate me after a while and I did start correcting errors and put a note in, in the nicest terms, to clarify the spelling of his name (even though it is not a rare name, nor one with more than one spellings)

HumphreyCobbler · 25/09/2013 20:42

PeppermintPasty, I love a good strike out myself and am eight and three quarter months pregnant so possibly more hormonal than usual which is why your innocent thread got a right old rant from me

Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 20:45

Rant away HC Grin

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Ericaequites · 25/09/2013 20:52

I am an American. It is spelled whack, and us nonstandard English. I am suprised such a word would appear on a spelling list.

Flakita · 25/09/2013 20:55

Could it be snack? I know people whose handwriting makes n's look like u's and the letter s could b done as little more than a quick stroke (graphology obsessive here)

jacks365 · 25/09/2013 20:56

I would recommend raising this with the teacher simply so the teacher can correct it for the rest of the children besides if this is for a test you want him testing on the right word.

shrinkingnora · 25/09/2013 21:16

TootsFroots - wacky baccy, surely? Wink

Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 21:55

Def not snack.
I'm going with an oversight/brainfade as the reason for the appearance of this odd word.

I think I'll just leave my (feeble) words: "I changed this" in the book, but if it should happen again I'd have to have a quiet word.

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TootsFroots · 25/09/2013 21:58

shrinkinNora. Lol, I actually wasn't sure how to spell it so I looked it up on Urban Dictionary ... It let me down Sad

stopthebusiwanttogetoff · 25/09/2013 22:05

It's not "rack" with an oddly written "r" is it? I wouldn't want my ds copying out "wack" several times but would hate to correct the teacher's instruction - how peculiar.

Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 25/09/2013 22:27

No, not rack either! Just a weird word all round I think!

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Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 27/09/2013 09:50

Well, I think I've solved "wackgate".

After I feebly put one line through "wack" and wrote "I changed this" (duh), my dear, daft ds decided, unbeknownst to me, to scribble her word out like children do ie, really hard.

I looked at it later and thought oh god, she'll think I did that! So I ended up writing a note in the home diary along the lines of checking that I had changed it to the right word, ie "whack", as I didn't want him to learn the wrong word, if she meant some other word and blaming my ds for the scribble of course.

She drew a Shock smiley in reply and also wrote: "!! I meant "wh", I'll change them all to "wh" ", which makes me think she's written wack in every single speliing book!!! Surely not??!!

Anyway, she didn't take offence, which I'm glad about. Lord knows what kind of brainfade she was experiencing if she spelled it wrong in every book though. Very odd.

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TravelinColour · 27/09/2013 10:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

badbride · 27/09/2013 11:18

YABU to correct "wack" to "whack". Far better to change it to "wank" Grin

HumphreyCobbler · 27/09/2013 11:31

Oh dear. If she spelled it wrongly in every book that IS worrying.

And here I was arguing for a typo.

shrinkingnora · 27/09/2013 11:38

She was probably exhausted and copying them out - you sometimes go into a daze doing that and stop reading what you're writing.

Buzzardbird · 27/09/2013 11:44

I think you should red pen it and write "I think you mean 'wank' don't you?" Grin

Buzzardbird · 27/09/2013 11:46

Oh piss, sorry badbride you beat me to that one Blush

My ds who is a teacher was informed by one of her dear pupils that he was going to 'wack' her. Apparently it means kill :(

Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 27/09/2013 11:46

Ha ha, perhaps I should look more closely, maybe it was wank. Ooh I hope so Grin

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treas · 27/09/2013 11:49

Could the word have been Sack as W and S are close on the keyboard?

Original poster
PeppermintPasty · 27/09/2013 11:49

Well, Buzzard, after looking up other meanings of wack, I found that it can mean kill.

Something subliminal going on there I think...but killing the whole class in her head?! Wow! She's so, so, er, soft.

It's always the quiet ones Smile

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