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AIBU?

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Original poster

Would I be unreasonable to correct the teacher?

374 replies

Horthnangerabbey · 12/12/2017 17:17

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?

OP posts:
Zhx3 · 12/12/2017 20:00

but I wasn't sure about the best so told her to ask her dad, who has a PhD in a related subject. He looked it up for her (did not know off the top of his head) and if memory serves me right, I think it is gold that is marginally better, but not by much.

I remember doing this in GCSE Physics many moons ago! Always used "CABI" for the order of conductivity... Copper, aluminium, brass iron. I also remember that silver is better than copper but too expensive to be putting in wires.

Amazing what sticks in your head.

Pinky333777 · 12/12/2017 20:01

I'd check before correcting.
Kids misinterpret/misunderstand their teachers sometimes x

Gwenhwyfar · 12/12/2017 20:02

"So pengwynn you wouldn't contact the class teacher but would contact someone more senior. That seems bizarre!"

It's actually nasty to complain to someone's boss if you haven't tried to sort the situation out with the person concerned first.

thecatfromjapan · 12/12/2017 20:03

Oh, I think it's hard to know everything you need to cover for primary. I'd definitely be cutting people a break for not knowing dates for the Great Fire of London. Perhaps they're a whizz at science?

Goethe is widely held to be the last person who was expert at everything, isn't he? And the general idea is that, after that, knowledge became more and more specialised, and requiring of specialisation.

It's kind of funny when teachers make mistakes but most of them are just that - small human errors. And in the main, most teachers cover an enormous amount of material and acquire a good grasp prior to teaching it.

To be honest, I'm generally pretty impressed.

Having said that, I'd be pretty horrified about a substantial error, such as the Jane Austen periodisation, at secondary level.

Pengggwn · 12/12/2017 20:03

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheXXFactor · 12/12/2017 20:03

If you are a native French speaker and have to go to French lessons in an English school, then every day is a masterclass in biting your lip. No one likes a smart arse Wink

Original poster
Horthnangerabbey · 12/12/2017 20:05

It’s in his book, pink ... I don’t want to cause any upset or humiliation. I like the suggestion from parsley

OP posts:
thecatfromjapan · 12/12/2017 20:07

TheXXFactor I can well believe that. But shouldn't you volunteer to demonstrate some real French? I remember a French student teacher visiting our secondary school and it was a revelation when she spoke French.

C0untDucku1a · 12/12/2017 20:08

I just assumed the head found it hilarious because they realised what dicks the parents were. I could be wrong though...

Gwenhwyfar · 12/12/2017 20:09

"almost all of the other trainees were born and raised in London the fact that only 4 out of 22 of us knew that the Great Fire was 1666, and was preceded by plague. hmm"

I'm not from London and didn't know that either. We didn't cover that period of history in school.

TulipsInAJug · 12/12/2017 20:09

This exact thread has been done before. We just need the academic to come on here and argue that the teacher was correct because the nineteenth century should be regarded as as the 'long Victorian era'... or something.

Where are you, long Victorian-ist?

Gwenhwyfar · 12/12/2017 20:13

"I can well believe that. But shouldn't you volunteer to demonstrate some real French? "

Not all teachers can take being corrected by a pupil. Depends a lot on their personality I think.
When I was a language assistant abroad there was an English native speaker, an American 19 year old, in the class with the youngsters learning English. The teacher told him he didn't know his own language because he didn't know the word proselytising. I suppose she didn't like not being superior.

wanderings · 12/12/2017 20:14

I remember my teacher at junior school asking us: "Has anyone spotted my mistake in the writing the words of the song 'Moses I know your the man'?" Nobody did spot it!

ButImNotOldYet · 12/12/2017 20:14

Anyone else still waiting for OP to acknowledge that she and her dh might actually have been wrong about the gold/copper thing...or even acknowledge what people have said about it...

Gwenhwyfar · 12/12/2017 20:14

" if we want people of comparable ability to those who become doctors, surgeons, consultants, financiers, lawyers etc., to become teachers,"

Do we want that?

Gwenhwyfar · 12/12/2017 20:15

ButIm - the gold and copper thing wasn't the OP.

Pengggwn · 12/12/2017 20:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Horthnangerabbey · 12/12/2017 20:20

No, the gold and copper thing was NOT the op ... as if I’d be that rude!

OP posts:
Pengggwn · 12/12/2017 20:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

margaritasbythesea · 12/12/2017 20:26

Last year we moved to Spain. The kids´school is the local school and a very good one and the curriculum is bilingual (very common in Spain)- The level of English is good, but as the weeks wore on I found DS, who was 6, getting increasingly wound up with his English lessons. One day he finally broke down and cried that he couldn´t understand anything they were saying in English, and wailed ´What ARE sow-sa-hes?´ I got out his book and realised they must have meant sausages. Poor bloody Spaniards tackling English pronunciation.

Given that I realised the teacher may well already have hated my kids, and that I am an English teacher and can help them at home, I just told DS to roll with it, keep quiet and keep the knowledge that he spoke and wrote far better English strictly to himself. Grin

Nuffaluff · 12/12/2017 20:30

The gold copper thing is hilarious. I'm sure though my team answered 'gold' as best conductor at a quiz a while back and got a point for it. We're a team of almost all teachers and we've never won a quiz yet!
I've got good general knowledge but if the kids ask me a question and I don't know the answer we look it up together. If they point out a mistake I've made i say thank you.
The one time a kid corrected me and I didn't back down (repeatedly, over the course of several weeks, in consultation with his parents) was when I said that 'humans are animals'. He and his parents insisted they weren't. It was a religious thing. I admire the kid though. He didn't back down and he was only five!

SpareASquare · 12/12/2017 20:31

Anyone else still waiting for OP to acknowledge that she and her dh might actually have been wrong about the gold/copper thing...or even acknowledge what people have said about it

YES! It was such a dickish act and to be wrong.......embarrassing. lol
Can't believe anyone would admit to having a DH who would do that.

Anyway, coming late to the party. I would not tell the teacher but I'd make sure my child knew the facts

Original poster
Horthnangerabbey · 12/12/2017 20:32

The gold copper thing wasn’t me!! Grr Grin

Margarita yours is another post that baffles me.

OP posts:
Gwenhwyfar · 12/12/2017 20:33

"In terms of academic ability, I suppose we do, yes."

Who do you mean by we? I don't want that. Those who are really academic can be university lecturers. We don't need that level from teachers. The other skills and qualities you mention are also important.

RoseWhiteTips · 12/12/2017 20:33

Piggywaspushed

The teacher may well be lovely. But that sometimes stops us from acting. If s/he is lovely they genuinely won't mind.

Who won’t mind?

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