to correct American spelling on dd's homework sheet

[m0therofdragons]

Dh is laughing at me because I'm a bit picky when it comes to spelling - I write for a living - and it really irritates me when school stuff comes home with spelling mistakes. Letters I sigh at but let go, however, dd (year 1) had a homework sheet and part of it asked her to color something in. I crossed it out and wrote colour. Aibu to think this is poor? Dd's spellings have also been wrong recently, asking her to learn shute... we taught her chute and shoot, but what if parents don't know it's wrong?

YANBU. Tell the school. Tell the teacher.

My test would be:does Harrow/Eton let this pass? No.

< In my case it would be Geelong Grammar or Scotch College>

I couldn't give a shiny shit about any of these schools per se, but know that they would never disadvantage their students by encouraging non-standard expression.

I just hate that sense of 'getting one over on the fuckwit teacher' that is implied by the use of red pen by a parent to correct a mistake.

I am certainly not saying that poor spelling from a teacher is unimportant or should not be addressed. But there is a difference between poor spelling and typos. I challenge anyone posting on this thread to look through all their posting history and NOT find the occasional typo. I made one earlier. If a teacher is always making mistakes this should be addressed - I would speak to the head teacher in this circumstance.

Correcting in red pen is rude. I want my children to have good manners as well as good spelling, it is up to me to set a good example.

I am a teacher. I make typos here.

But I triple check my worksheets (OK, mistakes happen) and I eradicate Americanisms.

I wouldn't use red pen, I prefer green or purple - but I don't see why it is rude. After all red is just a color. And a highly differentiated one at that - unless you are color blind.

Nor would I go to the head. I'd talk to the teacher... go to the head if you don't like the response.

well done you for never missing anything then Nomama. I have a pretty good track record myself. No complaints or red pen corrections during my fifteen years of teaching.

If you DO ever miss something I expect you won't mind a bit when an aggrieved parent corrects it and sends it back, instead of politely mentioning it to you.

My issue with the red pen is that of the parent treating the teacher like a pupil, not with the colour itself. I would speak to the head only if I felt the teacher's literacy levels were generally poor, not over an incorrect spelling in a worksheet.

Typos bother me less than incorrect spelling. Typos suggest you're busy. I love dd's teacher so I'm not trying to get one up on her. I crossed it out to highlight it but didn't want to confront the teacher as that seemed rather ott.

I would be bothered by the Americanism on the spelling list, that is pretty shoddy and I would expect the teacher to know better.

However, if the worksheet is just a printed off American maths resource, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. Some American resources are fantastic and the fact that different places have different ways to spell things is just a part of life which they will have to get used to eventually. It's a good opportunity to explain to your children that different people around the world spell and talk differently.

In response to PP I don't think independent schools would rule out using international resources to teach maths just because they aren't British. They can use all that extra money to invest in them, in fact!

YANBU. That sort of thing drives me mad. These kids are going to have to function in British society where British English is the norm.

But then, I am no fonder of terms like 'outdoor learning environment' for 'playground': I grind me teeth at that one.

I've corrected words in DS1s literacy worksheets, some of them can be allowed as overlooked. Others are blatant laziness. I've used black pen above it. Teachers are human.

I didn't say I don't miss any, Humphrey, I did say mistakes happen. It is more that I take extra care for Americanisms, I don't think there is any excuse for using them, free resources or not.

As CorusKate says, those learning need lots of exposure to the correct spellings. Teachers of any and all subjects should be part of that experience. There is no excuse for consistent misuse / laziness.

At least you'd hope it was laziness and not an inability to tell the difference.

Pregnantberry - it is even more vital that American maths resources are NEVER used. They have different quantities for some measures, it isn't just a matter of how to spell meter.

"Shute" is not American for "chute." It is just a misspelling. From what you describe here, it sounds like your DCs teacher is not great at proof reading rather than Americans trying to take over the world with their infernal aluminum and playdates and 18 oz pints.

Nomama, you said yourself that mistakes happen! The OP does not say it has happened more than once. Why not assume it was a one off mistake and NOT correct in red pen? If it happens again, then bring it to the teacher's attention.

really I would be more concerned over incorrect spellings than an occasional Americanism.

Corus that ad makes me cross for exactly that reason.

I understand typos happen - I know I've made a few in postings, but I think that if there are consistent Americanisms in teaching resources, and that spellings are incorrectly marked I'd try to have a polite word with the teacher.

One more badly written school newsletter with shockingly bad spelling and I'll be marking it in red pen and handing it back in. YANBU

Erm... I think you are reading something into my posts I didn't type, Humphrey. I said much the same as you have said.

With the exception of Americanisms, which, as a teacher, I see as being lazy, not having taken the time to properly check a found/bought resource or to have the correct spellcheck on a computer. As I said earlier, in maths that could be a deadly error!

Doubtful that it was written by the teacher. Most resources are borrowed. They probably didn't notice the mistake which isn't great as the children will be learning to spell but it is a mistake and we all make them

Sangria as a copywriter I'm often asked to provide articles or product descriptions in "American English" or not... there IS a distinction (thank God) and it needs to be taught.

You were absolutely right to do so; I would have done, and I would never teach American spellings; it is the English language being taught.

Shute isn't an American thing. We spell it "Chutes".

But even so, if a teacher gave DD a paper spelled "colour" I'd correct it to the American English. :)

I had a friend that thought he would be "unique" in high school and spell all his words with -or on the end as -our. It was really annoying to read and the teacher marked every single one of them wrong since that's not how we spell them over here.

if typos or mistakes were made in maths or French they would be out-and-out wrong. But it's always in English and literacy where these errors seem to occur, and excuses get made.

I'm a production editor and have been a proofreader, and we do some books for the American market, where American spellings and grammatical conventions are used. They are not the same.

YANBU and don't let it go.Cut-and-pasting American resources without checking the spelling is lazy.

American English is different in other ways, some of them quite subtle, and should not be used as the medium of education in British schools.

I spent my childhood and adolescence going back and forth between UK and US schools. It really was not at all difficult to learn both sets of spellings. I think it is perfectly acceptable to point out to young children that other native speakers of English follow different spelling conventions. Of course, I would expect teachers in a UK school to employ UK spelling in their own writing (and teachers in the US to use US spelling), but making use of resources from other countries is perfectly fine IMO.

At one of my schools in the UK I had a teacher who used to say and write things like "I seen" and "he done." This sort of language use is, of course, completely non-standard and represents some serious misconceptions about standard language use. It's certainly more serious than exposing children to the various spelling conventions the English language has. Even so, my parents didn't correct the errors and send the marked pages back.