DDs teacher giving serious misinformation WWYD?

[phantomnamechanger]

How to deal with this please......

DD has recently got a new English teacher. They are reading Pride & Prejudice (just started). Today in the lesson, the teacher has on several occasions referred to it being set in "the Victorian era"
that's a massive error to make, right? how do we point this out? DD was like when she told me, but there will be other kids who believe the teacher and for whom that will stick.
DD did not want to correct the teacher for fear of being reprimanded/thought rude.
WWYD?

It is an academic debate. But the child still has to get her GCSE - if she writes something following a theory that the teacher has perhaps herself not explained very clearly, and it's not a common theory, she is going to struggle. Because the examiners probably won't be expecting it, and unless she is extremely bright, they'll simply think 'oh, this candidate is making factual errors'.

As far as the academic debate goes, I guess to me, it seems more fair to look at similarities and differences between individual novels than to try to define a whole genre by its time period. I mean, you could argue that some writers were very conscious of being 'Victorian' and bought into her cult even if they wrote things outside the limit of her reign, but I think that could only apply to later writers being nostalgic.

Is social realism distinctively Victorian? Because Blake is quite into it, too, isn't he? He's sort of proto-Dickens with less tweeness about The Poor.

OP I think to tell the teacher or HOD your DD was confused about the correct era would be very unfair. From what you say she was quite clear that she doesn't believe it to be Victorian. Why should your DD have to be in the wrong to spare the teacher's feelings?

If the teacher was wrong and your DD knew she was she should be encouraged to find a diplomatic way of querying it with her. She doesn't have to do it in front of the whole class, she could say something before or after. If she really doesn't want to you could send an email saying your DD wanted to query it but was worried about how it would be received.

This thread has been very educational. I've never heard of the long 19th century before.

I'm not sure how anyone who understands this book, or has seen the film can even think it's set in the Victorian Era

It would seem that the teacher has no understanding of history, social issues or even history of costume. Surely surely the context and history of a book are as important as the book? I am just bemused how an English graduate who must have studied a wide range of books at university can even get it wrong? How?

The architecture and setting of all the films quite clearly show when it was set. I remember our teacher going on about the lovely crescents in Bath when we studied it, and how they were a perfect example of Georgian architecture...

I'm a secondary English teacher and I'd be very embarassed to make this mistake. If I did though and a pupil noticed I'd hope they'd say, 'er, miss are you sure? That can't be right because...' at which point I'd say, 'oh my goodness, you're totally right, silly me!'

I'd be utterly humiliated if a parent wrote to my HOD about it and most HODs I know would be a bit bemused to receive that kind of email. If your DD isn't comfortable saying anything then you could always email the teacher direct?

The architecture and setting of all the films quite clearly show when it was set. - Yes! I have been reading this thread, in between diving off to indulge my obsession with fashion history and doing a quick check on social context ... I loathe Austen's novels & have carefully avoided knowing anything about her, but I could have told you she was Regency from brief, accidental viewings of the TV series!

If the teacher grew up in England, she can't have escaped knowing something about Austen's era. Which either suggest she didn't, or she knows very little about anything at all

I hate Austen too, just can't get into them but I too know when they are set and when they were written. Come to think of it we didn't cover any of her novels in English at school.

I know logically that teachers should be challenged when wrong but the memories of what would happen if you questioned a teacher when I was at school are still very vivid. It makes me scared do it. I'm ashamed to say I used the "I think has become confused" when she was told Africa was a country.

Perhaps in slight defence of the teacher who said Catch 22 wasn't funny. Humour is entirely subjective so I think it's OK to find something not funny.

In the case of Catch22 it depends if the teacher denied it was a blackly humorous/satirical book or said he/she didn't find it funny.

I get that Hitchhikers Guide is a humorous book, ir. I find it as funny as a prostate examination. But it would be daft yo deny it was written with humorous intent.

It sort of annoys me when people make definitive statements about something subjective, though. My English teacher used to do it. She was great in many ways but she was absolutely convinced Anthony in Anthony and Cleo was a gorgeously sexy character and everyone was 'supposed' to like him from the word go ... I didn't. I still don't. Though I did make an exception for Patrick Stewart acting it. Mmmm.

"Forward, men of the Middle Ages!"

OP here, I am amazed how far this thread has gone in my absence.

Today they were actually asked to find examples of scenarios in the text to compare social etiquette/values in the Victorian period with our own time :(

I am taking no joy in this at all. In fact I am stressing about it, but I have composed and sent the email. I hope it is well received. I don't know what else I could do - some folk suggested going to see the teacher in person, but surely phoning up to make an appointment (and being cagey about the reason) makes it a right old faff for all concerned and I can't just go into the school and demand to see her!

This is truly and breathtakingly crap. I am so sorry.

Oh, you're kidding?! That's really not very good, is it?

I'd be interested to see what response you get to the email.

You did right, not only is it breathtakingly dim of the teacher to think Pride and Prejudice, but it could imperil the students' chances of success in exams/coursework. If their answers are all littered with references to 'the victorian period' the marker will neither know or care that their half-witted English teacher misled them.

I did Pride & Prejudice for GCSE and remember mounting a spirited defence of Mrs Bennett and comparing her favourably with her husband. which I shamelessly stole from the York notes

Spectacularly bad teacher. Just as well my boy was a science type. I'd have been down to that school and demanding to see that teacher's degree, where she studied, who taught her, and class of degree in an instant.

Oh yes, in your situation, I'd have been that parent.

Apart from the teacher being wrong, wrong, wrong, it's a very BAD way of teaching fiction. It encourages the pupils to think that fiction is supposed to be like the 'real' world.

And then I have to spend three years undoing all the bad teaching at school ...

LRD did she not show you the definite version with Sid James and Amanda 'Alma from Corrie' Barrie in the title role?

That is negligent teaching in itself.

You know, I've absolutely no memory whether she did show us that. She was a cracking teacher in most ways, just with an odd crush on a random fictional character.

I have to say, though, I am thinking about GCSE students and it must be incredibly difficult to do that job. But also ... when in the Victorian period? I mean, it's bloody long, it's like saying you could understand the etiquette in American Psycho by studying examples of dating in WWII.

Wow. Just wow. I am so sorry, OP- I wish I had something helpful to suggest.

Wow I've learnt loads from this thread
Slightly embarrassing as I'm in my third year of my history degree although it's through the OU so I don't get to debate anything and widen my knowledge!

Have never read an Austen book but still knew the correct era!

So what did you end up saying in your email OP?

It's a grammar school with a very recent outstanding Ofsted report too! (which I thoroughly agreed with, it really is a fantastic school, there are very few things we have not been happy with and this is our first cause to complain.) Actually that's one of my causes for concern - they are pushing to get exceptional grades after all and misconceptions grasped thoroughly now may be hard to forget and lead them to make serious mistakes later).

Even though I know I am justified, I still feel a bit crappy!

RP - that DD did not want to appear rude by contradicting teacher either yesterday or today, (this teacher started this week by the way, so it really was early days and hence DD not knowing how to deal with it) but that the book is not set in the victorian period and this misinformation may affect their understanding of the book and impact on their history work too.

One has to wonder if English was this particular teacher's degree subject at all. I am aware that last year, dtd2 was being taught English by a teacher who was actually originally appointed to teach French, probably because there were staffing issues. As a matter of fact she seems to be perfectly competent to teach both subjects - maybe Joint Honours, maybe just a fantastic teacher? - but one has to wonder about this.

Up thread, someone said that idiot Gove was an idiot for wanting children to know that Egyptians come before Romans and Romans come before Vikings etc etc. Now I agree Gove is an idiot, but on this particular subject I do actually agree. Each phase of human history influences the next.

I have nothing against teachers teaching outside of their specialism, however, they do need to be very well informed and not be making glaring mistakes about something as basic as this in the first couple of lessons.