Aibu regarding bad spelling & grammar in DD's report?

[ItWentInMyEye]

As the title suggests, my DD received her school report last week and it is littered with bad spelling and poor grammar. I'm quite annoyed as A) my daughter's teacher is capable of these things and B) that the Deputy Head has supposedly signed it off! (Implying she has read and approved it, however the signature looks printed to me) So aibu to comment on these things in a polite way on the form I have to return tomorrow? I've put it off because I'm torn between looking like an arsehole and the fact that a teacher should -in my eyes at least- be able to spell and write sentences correctly. Help!!!

[inlovewithhubby]

A casual, I think you underestimate the power of the web and the strength of social media these days. It is perfectly possible that one of the 2/3/4/5 strong teaching team and leadership team in that class is on mumsnet. I wouldn't risk identifying the OP or her child in relation to such open criticism. That which the OP has told us is absolutely sufficient for people to come to a view. It is perfectly reasonable for the OP to seek confirmation that her gut instinct isn't wrong (whilst accepting that others, such as you, will disagree), but if she started posting the whole of the text which could be linked back to the writer and the team, that would be completely unreasonable. The beauty of mumsnet is its anonymity, and the OP is right to preserve both hers and the teacher's.

[teacherwith2kids]

acasual,

How many examples would you need to be convinced that the iceberg is there? And how many do you think are acceptable (not 'excusable given teachers' workload', not 'understandable because they are just a slip of the finger', but 'acceptable in an important professional document')?

As I have said, my threshold for acceptable is 1, or perhaps 2 in a long report, though I would obviously strive for zero and design processes to try to reduce it as close to zero as possible in as many reports as possible. What is yours?

[acasualobserver]

That which the OP has told us is absolutely sufficient for people to come to a view.

You are entitled to that assessment. I disagree and would like a discussion in the light of all the evidence.

Additionally, your concerns about identification are grossly overblown. Properly redacted, the risk of this happening is tiny and you know this. In any case, as we all know, far more identifying scenarios about teachers and schools are outlined here on a daily basis.

[OlennasWimple]

The OP wants to avoid embarrassing the teacher. Plastering the school report on MN could lead to exactly that. Is that difficult to grasp?

[acasualobserver]

As I have said, my threshold for acceptable is 1, or perhaps 2 in a long report, though I would obviously strive for zero and design processes to try to reduce it as close to zero as possible in as many reports as possible. What is yours?

You are missing my point. I would simply like to have a discussion in the light of all - or, at the very least, more - evidence.

[acasualobserver]

The OP wants to avoid embarrassing the teacher. Plastering the school report on MN could lead to exactly that. Is that difficult to grasp?

I haven't asked her to do that. It is you who has a problem in understanding, I'm afraid.

[OlennasWimple]

The OP said those egs were the tip of the iceberg, i.e. a representative part. You asked to see the iceberg i.e. the whole thing (albeit redacted)

[teacherwith2kids]

My question to acasual is 'Why?' What will it change in your advice to the OP about the situation that she finds herself in?

I can imagine that if you were the teacher's headteacher, seeing the full report would enable you to make a decision about process, additional support needs etc - but as someone on MN, the OP has simply asked 'do i raise it with the school or not'. You would only need more information in order to decide if you feel that the existing errors shared are not sufficient for there to be a concern - which would mean that there must be another, higher number of errors which would change your view. What is that higher number?

[ilovesooty]

It sounds as though the teacher was not as accurate as could be hoped for and the proof reading process wasn't in any way acceptable.

However the mistakes mentioned look like typos or tiredness during the revision process rather than an inability to understand grammar. I was rather expecting the OP to describe errors such as "she done" "she could of wrote" but I'm still unsure what the grammatical shortcomings are.

[VenusOfWillendorf]

​I work in a company which is very strong on providing continuous feedback on colleagues performance. I am regularly asked to provide feedback for X against Y criteria to be provided by Z date. Like most of my co-workers, I am also very busy and regularly work very long hours.
I would NEVER submit a feedback report without giving it careful consideration and of course proof-reading it. It would be so disrespectful, and I would rightly be pulled up on it.
I would expect the same standard from a teacher providing feedback on a child. The purpose is supposed to be to highlight what the child is doing well, and what can be improved upon. It should be the basis for their performance in the coming year; it is not something trivial that doesn't matter.
A primary teacher will not have more than 30ish students in the class. It's not like it's a last minute request with an unreasonable due-date. Two per day in the month or two before the end of year shouldn't take too much from anyones time.
I would definitely raise it with the teacher, in a friendly way as others have suggested; present it as a possible oversight, or suggest it's not been proof-read. But I wouldn't be apologetic about it, you are not asking for anything that is unreasonable and the teacher is at fault here for having a lazy attitude.​

[Alconleigh]

I don't really understand the "oh it doesn't really matter if they are sloppy and inaccurate, they are tired bless them" line. As someone else pointed out, we wouldn't accept that in a doctor, or a pharmacist. And not just jobs where inaccuracy costs lives; I can't send out something at work littered with mistakes, it wouldn't be considered acceptable at all. So why on earth would it be ok in the profession whose task is to actually teach this stuff?!

[OlennasWimple]

If my accountant messed up my tax return with simple errors because he was busy and tired at that point of the year, neither I nor HMRC would be too pleased

[acasualobserver]

The OP said those egs were the tip of the iceberg, i.e. a representative part. You asked to see the iceberg i.e. the whole thing (albeit redacted)

No, no, no. I have said, in terms, that I am not asking for a copy and paste of the whole report. I'm asking to see all the mistakes. According to the OP, the report is "littered" with these and, together, they comprise 25% of the document as a whole. All I have asked is to know what these mistakes are.

[teacherwith2kids]

Why? How will it change your advice to the OP?

[SalemSaberhagen]

Because then we will know if she is exaggerating or not, surely? Then again, the only way to truly tell is actually seeing the report (anyone can type something on here and say that's what it said).

As that obviously can't happen we just have to take OP's word for it.

[acasualobserver]

How will it change your advice to the OP?

It would help me judge just how annoyed the OP should be.

[teacherwith2kids]

Salem, as a teacher, what she has already posted would be sufficient to flag up to the school, because it goes above my threshold for 'unacceptable number of errors'. So even if there were no other errors in the whole report, I would be commenting based on those alone.

[PaddingtonLoverOfMarmalade]

acasualobserver, are you practising an officious writing style? If so, you're doing very well.

You seem to be demanding personal information from a total stranger as though it's your right. She's asked for an opinion, not a verdict.

[inlovewithhubby]

Yep I'm with teacher - on any level the mistakes described are sloppy, for that alone it ought to be reported. If teachers are too tired to produce work of an appropriate standard by the end of term, then there is either a competence or a training issue.

I'm a massive supporter of teachers. Most I know work bloody hard, in tricky circumstances, far longer than their contractual hours, with shockingly restrictive constraints placed on them by government. They still want to do their best. All admit they could do better (as we all can do in our roles, if you aren't improving you are static and that's never good). In the long run, parents addressing this sort of issue in a measured, reasonable way will help both teachers' practice and the next generation's achievement.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Ours often don't even have the correct name being used consistently. I've never bothered to mention it. I keep them all, it's interesting to look back on, errors and all - it just adds character!

[diddl]

"It would help me judge just how annoyed the OP should be."



Omg thank you, that's hilarious!

[ItWentInMyEye]

Lordy, I've missed quite a bit! I won't be providing any more examples, as I've been given enough opinions and comments to help me with my choice, and as has been previously said I don't want to run the risk of being identified however small a risk you think it is. I've got no complaints with the teacher or the teaching that my daughter has received, only that the report isn't 100% right. The mistakes were noticeable at first glance to myself and others, so I don't believe I'm being ridiculously fussy. I've not said anything to the teacher, as most posters this morning seemed to think it was unnecessary and I don't want to end the school year on bad terms or cause the teacher any added stress. I'm glad some people agree with me that it's a bit poor, but I came here obviously to find out if I was being 100% unreasonable or not and it doesn't appear that I am.

[acasualobserver]

acasualobserver, are you practising an officious writing style? If so, you're doing very well.

Are you practising some fairly witless sarcasm? If so, you too are excelling. And the rest of your comment is equally vacuous - posters ask for additional information all the time on this board as I'm sure you've noticed.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

I'm surprised at so many people here condoning typos in a school report.
At the very least it looks sloppy, the same as it would in a business letter. That is, assuming they WERE typos - if not then it's really a matter for concern.

I seem to remember one thing teachers were constantly telling us was to check our work for careless mistakes - do they no longer practise what they preach? Or maybe they don't preach it any more.