Would I be unreasonable to correct the teacher?

[Horthnangerabbey]

It is a minor thing really but if the teacher had told the class something that you knew was wrong, would you tell her? Or would you just explain to your own child the correct info and keep quiet?

In essence you have to know what you are teaching better than the kids you teach...

I still feel a bit guilty that a generation of local kids think babies come out of your pee hole.

Brilliant.

I find it awkward observing lessons when it becomes clear that someone doesn't know the text. I observed one lesson where (adapting a little obviously as this is public) the teacher said An Inspector Calls was written in 1912 (written in 1945 and set in 1912), a huge mistake given the amount of work which rests on this fact. Then it came to some contextual ideas and it became clear the teacher couldn't explain. I felt for them. It was an absolute trainwreck of a lesson. Loads of good activities and on paper it looked good, but a couple of basic mistakes early on sent the house of cards toppling.
In our review I asked if they noticed the student kindly offering them a get out ("sir/miss, did you mean it's set in 1912 rather than written?" Sort of thing) and the teacher didn't take it. They thought the child was trying ti be cheeky but they were actually bailling the teacher out

Piggywaspushed
Oh i agree entirely. That was why i said any teacher should have swotted up on ehat they are teaching.

I was just meaning that it's a bit much for people saying things like 'surely anyone who teaches english should know...' Whereas I'm more 'people have their own areas of specialism and wouldn't know others from the top of their head, but they should be more than 2 pages ahead of the class'.

I struggle with this as DD at C of E school so they tell her God is real. When I have tried to correct the teachers with scientific fact it has not gone well. So hard.

grobagsforever
They are a religious school. I can kind of see why they aren't terribly impressed with people sending their child there and then going into school to say your beliefs are nonsense.

I hope you pointed out that scienfically nobody knows either way whether God exists (religious here and still accept that there's no scientific proof).

Hate to be a pain but if you have an issie with it, don't send your child to a faith school.

@MaisyPops -I have no choice -there is no viable choice in my town - she wouldn't be offered a place elsewhere.

I would never refer to someone's religious beliefs as nonsense. The absence of a shred evidence is, however, an indisputable fact, ergo the existence of God should no more be presented to children as fact than flat earth should.

@Horthnangerabbey - to be honest I'd correct child privately in your case as it's no biggie.

grobagsforever

I can genuinely love you, or I could genuinely hate you. If I did either, and you denied me, would you be able to prove my feelings were not real?

Yes, I would correct the teacher, maybe in a note. Not acceptable in my opinion. This is my hobby horse. If you don't improve/teach things when you are given the chance then knowledge gets diluted/standards drop and the world gets nearer to hell in a handcart! Secondly, general knowledge is vital in a teacher but feel I am on a hiding to nothing with that belief. I get a 'buzz' of concern if I am unsure about something - i.e. did nothing in this teacher's brain ring alarm bells when she shoe horned JA into the wrong era; she is the epitome of her period. Now waiting to be flamed for errors I have made but will try and learn gracefully from the corrections!

grobagsforever
So tell your child that the beliefs presented in assembly are C of E beliefs that some people hold as part of their faith ans school is a C of E school.
It's perfectly fine to point out that.

I think calling up a religious school and complaining thry teach a central belief of the faith is just ridiculous. It'd be the same if i sent my chikdren to a jewish school only to complain they don't teach about Jesus.

Now, if in science they were denying evolution then that's problematic. But generic statements of faith in line with religion of the school, part of tje deal I'm afraid.

Pengggwn
Now I get if there's no other options and you want to tell your child at home 'people say that because they believe in god and it is a faith school' but calling up a faith school to complain about God, well... no wonder the school were a bit

That does not make that person lazy or stupid, it makes them inexperienced

This is correct but it does make them shockingly unaware of things around them. It’s not so much not knowing it’s a Regency novel (although that is also odd) it’s the Victorian reference. Victorian has so many well known tropes and Austen has no connection with any of them. Even seeing the DVD cover of Pride and Prejudice would give you a pretty big clue. I don’t understand how anyone could read Austen and think Victorian.

There was a similar thread a while back. Tell the teacher.

I don’t understand how anyone could read Austen and think Victorian.

As a heathen who has never read any but has watched some on the telly..... I hadn't thought about it this deeply. I've never read any Dickens either, but again have watched some on the telly. I CBA reading those old novels, too heavy going 😂

A quick Google though tells me that Oliver twist was first published in 1838, one year after queen Victoria came to the throne. Pride and Prejudice 1813, exactly 25 years earlier. Now it's 200 years later so 25 years difference into the very early Victorian era isn't obvious to me at first glance. Shoot the old ignoramus now.

OP it sounds important though in the context of teaching. Give the teacher a quick friendly call, if she's as nice as you say she'll be grateful.

It's true - some of the texts we think of as Victorian are very early on in Victoria's reign and very different to what came later. The poor teacher really should have stuck to nineteenth century! It's much safer!
Also, we're all capable of making a slip even when we do know something. My DS was pretty horrified when I pointed out An Inspector Calls is not a nineteenth century text as he'd written in his book - he knew exactly when it was written and when it's set but he had one of those 'moments' and just wrote down the wrong century!

I wish someone would tell all the English teachers in France who use the term "copy book" instead of "exercise" book that it is NOT what it is called in English or American English (I have a feeling it may be called that in Ireland, but you can count the number of native speakers of Irish teaching here on the fingers of one hand

Yes, it is called a copy book in Ireland, but why would you need to be a native speaker of Irish to teach English in France? There are a LOT of Irish teachers of English everywhere, many in France, and they would all say copy book and not exercise book.

Teachers teaching lies or ignorance should be corrected. Why should 30 years worth of kids have to learn and then unlearn wrong stuff just because being wrong might upset the teacher? It can be done nicely, but yes absolutely it should be done.
Someone is going to tell them in the end, will they feel better knowing that hundreds or maybe thousands of kids and their families will know by then?

In my case the teacher had told the class that trees are non living, like rocks.
You would have been useful on the vegetarian (pescatarian) child who had chicken fingers instead of fish fingers recently.
The number of people apologising for their pedantry to tell the OP that her DD was pesc not vege because vegetarians don't eat anything that has been alive, was astounding.
Was this teacher a vegetarian? :p

I do think there are quite a lot of projected excuses for the teacher here: assumptions that she is young (don't get why that is relevant), inexperienced (ditto) or may not have specialist degree (may be so, but really don't think non specialist would be teaching GCSE Jane Austen, just based on my experiences). The teachers I know who do make mistakes like this usually don't mind correction tbh - or they check things beforehand, aware that it is an Achilles Heel, but it is pretty poor that there are teachers making such mistakes. Even if a non specialist they should know the course, its requirements and the text. And receive support form hod if needed. OP clarified this wasn't a slip of the tongue : students were made to write it down, no doubt under the heading of 'Important Context' !!

On a side note I have just marked mocks on 'Inspector Calls'. Not many of the students seemed to know when the play was written. Set, yes. Written, no.

By the way, Scottish people (who also speak English ) say jotters.

pengggwn I am sorry, but it genuinely is within anyone's control to know when a JA novel was written. It is inside the front cover and things like York Notes do exist!