To pull someone up on their incorrect use of grammar in the classroom of children?

[biebersLadyLabyrinth]

I'm working with another TA (new to this job) until the term breaks and we're not getting on. I used to be a parent at the school and thought she didn't mind me as I wasn't a fussy parent (she's always had the reputation for being a bit scary-this said by children and parents alike but she was good to mine and our paths rarely crossed)

She's very cool with me which I can handle and furthermore if she doesn't like me no problem as long as we can get the job done.

She keeps criticising my using certain phrases like "splendid" or "Cheese and Crackers" as a child-friendly expletive even "marvellous" bothers her. This said, I've heard her over and over incorrectly speak to children. When one little boy told her his mum doesn't like him to say a phrase in that way-he was chided and told her way is perfectly ok.

I'm tempted to say something to her but worry she'll get a bit nasty.

Today 18:31 orlantina

Sorry. I forgot Alex was not the OP! Mea culpa

That's ok. It's easy to make reading and comprehension mistakes on an online forum. Especially if you have a small phone screen. grin

Au contraire! I was carried away due to all the verbal jousting. Alex put herself in the firing line with her I am a teacher post.
She became the focus. And how...

I would have given feedback to the Maths coordinator at more work was needed on BIDMAS, showing evidence from the work they had done. Then they can sort it out.

So you wouldn't have told the children the correct way to do BODMAS.......

worked for a head who decided to tell the children that words ending in 'ly' were adverbs.

Everyone teaches that in my school. In ks1 they are taught to recognise adverbs by looking for -ly words. The fun of explaining why "ugly" is not an adverb

Well yes, of course. I have frequently taught something "differently" to a different teacher. Including BIDMAS. I assume it's the D/M A/S thing...

FFS Nina & Pengggwn!
I am also a teacher and part of our job is to correct errors and model how to do things correctly. TAs are not expected to be perfect, just as teachers aren't, but children to copy the adults they are surrounded by. So, we must be good role models. I don't believe that the OP meant that she was going to chastise and correct her fellow TA in front of the children, I doubt any of us would recommend that, but if someone is making a consistent mistake without realising they should be told. Part of my role is to make sure that the staff I lead (teachers and TAs) are using appropriate spoken and written English. It can be awkward when I need to speak to someone, but handled the right way most staff are fine. We are all human and we all make mistakes. We teach the children that errors are fine, so we must also understand that it's ok to make them ourselves. As long as we move on from them.

There is nothing worse than a pedant. Quite a few on this thread and I don't mean you OP.

Sad.

The thing is that kids really care when adults don't have to follow the same rules as them. Kids who are punished for taking their blazers off in the heat when their teacher has taken his jacket off, kids who get told no eating in the classroom but a teacher has their lunch in there. Primary school children are even worse for it because they love to 'tell on' anyone. If the children are expected to use proper grammar and will be pulled up for 'could of', 'I'll learn you' and 'what was you doing?', then the adults should be modelling the correct grammar.

It's not usually polite to correct people's grammar, but OP is having her way of speaking criticised, so it must be very annoying if the other TA is doing this and then using bad grammar herself. How important it is would probably depend on the exact phrases, though.

I am intrigued, what was the incorrect BOBMAS thing?

I have a book of Verbal Reasoning excercises that I use for 11+ tuition, but there is one page where all the questions are wrong, as they haven't used BODMAS.

I double checked with dh (maths person) and yup, they have done them all wrong.

Oh, BOBMAS wonder what that would be??

DM - means you do EITHER the division or multiplication first (whatever comes first)

AS - means you do EITHER the addition or subtraction first (whatever comes first)

Some people think you do all the additions first and then all the subtractions. That can lead to mistakes

e.g

1- 2 + 3

Is that 1 - 5

Or -1 + 5

Edit:

1-2+3

Is that:

1-5 ?

or
-1 + 3 ?

Oh I see.

yes I have had this when I first started teaching it, kids took the order too literally.
I tend to write it down as

B
O
DM
AS

still come across adults who don't know it though!

-1+3

66 posts, and the op hasn't even said what she finds so annoying about her colleague's use of grammar
Stop fighting amongst yourselves, children!

rebel

Yes, I know that...but I had a lot of Y6 children convinced it was 1-5 (because they did Addition first).

Teaching is great - but if you are going to teach something, make sure you teach it correctly. If you don't know it, don't teach it.

Modelling behaviour and language is also important. Adults act as role models.

But Molly - mn loves a good debate about classroom mistakes!

to the pp where there was an apostrophe mistake in the hall, that one I would be having a quiet word with someone.

mn loves a good debate about classroom mistakes

@orlantina does it count if I don't actually know the rule you guys are talking about,but just know how to do maths?

I have to say I only intervene on spellings when it's something kids are expected to copy in their books. It's not fair on them to copy/learn a wrong spelling.

Everyone round here, teachers, head, parents, kids all say:

Is everyone sat on the floor?
If you are all sat down...
I was sat in the office..

I sometimes have to sit on my hands and grit my teeth.

My kids don't actually believe that it is not a correct construction, and I have been battering it into them for years.

'I was sat there!"

No.
was sitting
sat
but not was sat

I sometimes have to sit on my hands and grit my teeth

Don't you think that 'sitting' and 'sat' has local variation?