Teacher marked correct work as incorrect

[MillionToOneChances]

This has been happening a lot lately, but today feels worse as the school's maths coordinator was taking the lesson. My DC had written that 36 was the square root of 1296. Maths coordinator marked it incorrect and said the correct answer was 936.

AIBU to be really frustrated? These incidents are really knocking his faith in school. I know he's a kid and the teacher is just a human being, but my DC does have form for being unfeasibly good at multiplication so a little faith wouldn't have gone amiss if it wasn't an easy sum for the teacher.

[DadDadDad]

1.7 to the power of ten means
1.7 x 1.7 x 1.7 x 1.7 x .... x 1.7 [1.7 multiplied 10 ten times] which according to the screenshot above is 202.6

[Integration14]

Yes it was the TA. My friends were shocked and they suggested me to move my dc to another school. I complained to the teacher and she told me that the Ta was learning English and I should not make a big fuss about this little thing.

[Thumbwitch]

Really Integration? Really? Your child's education is at least partly in the hands of someone who doesn't even speak the lingo properly* and you "shouldn't make a big fuss"??
I suspect this is where a lot of the problems stem from, the lackadaisical attitude to teacher training!

*I have no problem with people for whom English is not a first language teaching, or being a TA, by the way - but they should not be then marking a child's English homework if they can't get their own English correct!

[MidniteScribbler]

Million Have you seen this book? I find it fantastic for my more advanced students who need extending. It's an Australian website, but you should be able to get it on other sites.

I'll be the first to admit that maths is not my strongest subject, but as a teacher, it's my job to be able to extend students who need it. I've got one student this year who sounds a lot like your son. He leaves all of us for dead in his abilities. It's been a real learning curve for me to keep him engaged and developing his skills this year!

[DadDadDad]

I got excited for a moment, because I saw the word "integration" in the last post, and thought "now we can get into some really challenging Maths"! (Integration is A-level)

But, on the serious point, I agree those who teach can't be teaching a subject at a level at which they themselves are not competent.

[Integration14]

At the end I complained to the HT and she stopped marking my dc homework, but not the rest of the class.

[MillionToOneChances]

That looks brilliant, thanks midnite.... Can't find it for less than £60, but I'll keep looking.

DadDad I just looked at integration. I wonder whether he'll be as confident when, instead of being the fount of all knowledge, I start telling him to phone his Nana

[Integration14]

The consecuences of this complaint is that she started to pick up on my daughter in every ocassion, another complaint to the HT and luckily she stopped.

[Thumbwitch]

OMG Integration - that sounds terrible! at least your DD's HT seems on top of it when contacted, but he/she absolutely shouldn't have to be involved

[MillionToOneChances]

integration, I'm amazed you were the only one moved to complain. Hard to see how her marking could be comparable to that of the teacher.

[Armi]

Teachers, eh? Tsk. What a bunch of incompetent, useless, stupid, constantly holidaying arseholes. I'd home school if I were you, that way your child will have a proper education.

[Jux]

Penelope, I am wondering why you do that? Surely in primary, it would be confusing to the pupils to hear "multiply by 10, 100, 1000" as well as "multiply by powers of 10". I know that's what is happening but in young children, many of whom will find maths challenging and hard, then that just clouds the issue and makes it more difficult to work out what they're meant to be doing (or is that just me?).

[mamaduckbone]

If it was a one off, I would say let it go - anyone can make a mistake (although if your son is very sharp at maths the teacher should have been more rigorous with checking that he wasn't correct). Primary school teachers do have to be jack of all trades after all, and that sum is beyond what the majority of primary age children would be working on.

However, since she is the maths coordinator and if it is happening frequently, I would say something, especially if it is affecting your child's feelings about school.

[MidniteScribbler]

But, on the serious point, I agree those who teach can't be teaching a subject at a level at which they themselves are not competent.

There are times in your teaching career that you get a student who is exceptional in a certain area. It's the case I have with the young boy in my class now (been assessed at working at a year 11 level in numeracy, but he's only in my 4/5 class). I am perfectly competent to teach a 4/5, even a year six level maths, but not necessarily a year 11 class. That has just meant that I've had to extend my own knowledge to help him and seek additional resources and support for him. I've spent a lot of time harassing the year six teacher who has a maths specialty (just as he harasses me for my history and literacy specialist knowledge). If you've got a good team and are prepared to ask for assistance, then you can still be an effective teacher.

[DadDadDad]

MidniteScribbler - OK, the truth is a bit more nuanced than my one sentence, but clearly one should not be in a position of explaining a concept or assessing a response where you as the teacher are not sure yourself. It sounds to me like you did what any competent teacher would do: recognise their limitations and rely on the knowledge of someone else to meet the child's needs. And you said you extended your own knowledge, ie raised your competence to the level required.

[MillionToOneChances]

Armi my sister is a teacher. Loads of my friends are teachers. I've worked in a school myself and I'm finishing my MEd. I have the utmost respect for teachers in general. This school, these particular teachers, are currently failing my anomalously bright child. Some of the reasons for that are outside their control, some aren't.

I do think it's disingenuous to suggest that wanting to homeschool and/or having issues with some specific (glaring) gaps in one or two specific teachers' subject knowledge indicates a disrespect for the profession as a whole.

Midnite, I wish you were teaching my son!

[Thumbwitch]

Don't think that Daddad's point was really about that though midnite - it was following on from integration's post about the non-competent English speaker marking her DD's English homework incorrectly.

Armi - no need to take offence since we are not discussing ALL teachers but a minority who appear to not have the necessary skills to teach the correct information.

[MillionToOneChances]

One of my teacher/MEd friends was homeschooled herself. She offers an interesting perspective. It's not such a crazy concept for a child who has learned as much as this school seems likely to teach him given his advanced abilities and the school's turmoil.

Clearly teaching is a very skilled job, but teaching my own little learning-addicted sponge all the things he wants to do? Not that hard, and very rewarding.

My DD, who loves her excellent secondary school, said she loses 15-20 minutes per hour of lesson time just waiting for everyone to settle/pack up. Factor in all the teaching aimed at levels other than her own, and it's easy to see how personalised, self-motivated learning with 1-1 support can compete.

[MillionToOneChances]

watch me eat my words when he first throws a major strop because he doesn't think what I'm asking him to do helps his learning.

I just think there's a huge distinction between helping one child meet their own goals using workbooks, personal experience and the local environment, and teaching a class of 30 with disparate needs and interest levels.

[ChippingInAutumnLover]

integration I assumed the green pen was the TA, not the red pen?! The red pen looks like the year 4s Peer Review stuff at our school, and tbh, I was a little less than impressed with that level from them. But if the red pen is the TA's comments...it is unbelievable that you are the only parent that complained!! A TA with that standard of english isn't at all acceptable.

[ChippingInAutumnLover]

Million. It's not without it's challenges, but it is rewarding. They come on so fast and have so much time to study the things that interest them and do other stuff. They don't need to be at a desk 'school hours'. Family life is a lot better. You'll have DD wanting to be home schooled too and both of them popping in to school to meet their mates for lunch

I think the key to reducing battles is to allow them to work on things that interest them and jointly set the timetable/goals etc.

Marvellous fun teaching sponges! But hard to keep ahead sometimes. Still, you can always get someone in if you need to, but with a bit of enthusiasm I think you and DS will be fine for a while yet!

Have you heard back from your ex?

[MillionToOneChances]

Ex is totally on board for flexischooling and my request letter went in this week. We'll see how that goes.

It sounds utterly idyllic. I'd love to homeschool full time, and between my family we have subject specialist knowledge in maths and physics, French, psychology and biology. My daughter loves school though, and my son loves being surrounded by kids. I'm very interested to see how it pans out, though, if we manage to persuade them.

[PossumPoo]

I agree armi and you forgot massive chip on shoulder.

But I'm not being sarcastic like you are.

[GretnaGreen]

I haven't RTFT but I am utterly, remedial-level crap at maths and it is obvious even to me that 936x936 is going to be a fuck sight more than 1296. There is no excuse for anyone with access to a calculator (or Google!) to get that wrong, let alone a maths teacher of any stripe.

[FunkyBoldRibena]

Fuck homeschooling - start your own school.

I'm astounded at the 36 x 36 = 936. Utterly depressing.