Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Would you speak to the teacher?

73 replies

Ispini · 19/03/2019 12:39

I don’t know if I’m overreacting or not but I am quite miffed by this. The other day my DD (secondary age)was in English class and they were doing some Irish poetry. The teacher spent the first ten minutes speaking in a ‘leprechaun’ (as she described it) Irish accent. For the rest of the day the kids kept saying stupid things like ‘top of the morning to ya’ etc. She came home and asked me what that meant! I have to say I was irritated and feel that if it was poetry from another country he would not have done this. My DD is well travelled and seemed quite baffled as she has never encountered something like this before. FWIW I am a teacher and wouldn’t dream of doing this. WWYD?

OP posts:
arethereanyleftatall · 19/03/2019 14:50

So, are some people saying now that imitating an accent is offensive; even if nothing offensive is said? That's going to put a lot of comedians out of business.
What about my queens English telephone voice? Is that allowed?

Tunnockswafer · 19/03/2019 15:32

My understanding of the OP was not that the teacher read the poem in an approximation of the poet’s own accent - but that the teacher was talking to them in the accent outwith the poem reading part. I think there would be a difference in the two. It didn’t sound respectful from what the OP posted, though obviously she wasn’t there. If it was done in a “let’s have a laugh at the silly accent” kind of way then it is inappropriate. Teaching our children to mock other people is not really what we want to get out of a lesson. It’s not my style anyway.

Knitclubchatter · 19/03/2019 15:48

What about pirate voices and chat on pirate day?
Shiver me timbers
It’s st. Patrick’s day, I presume lots of fun Irish type poetry with attempts at the accent, green hat and gold coins.
Sounds fun to me.

recrudescence · 19/03/2019 16:05

Another day, another shit teacher thread.

InnerCircle · 19/03/2019 16:05

@Knitclubchatter

Why are pirates toxic and racist?

Because they arrrrr.

Pieceofpurplesky · 19/03/2019 16:18

Teachers just can't win. I always attempt to read a poem in the accent it is meant to be read in if there is not one on YouTube because the whole rhythm of the poem is about the voice.

This says more about your DC's classmates than a teacher teaching a poem as it should be.

Pieceofpurplesky · 19/03/2019 16:21

@Tunnockswafer I think you read it wrong - the teacher spent ten minutes (reading the poem and probably discussing accent) and the kids spent the rest of the day talking in an accent and taking the piss ....

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 19/03/2019 16:23

I must say I've never felt the need to read Seamus Heaney or Yeats in a cod Irish accent but there you go. Maybe that's where everyone goes wrong with Ulysses.

whatthesmeg · 19/03/2019 16:30

Maybe the teacher was trying her best ? Reading Roddy Doyle to ds is always done with a dublin accent which I'm not bad at if I do say so myself, but have just started the secret garden and my Yorkshire accent is pretty dreadful !

TheZeppo · 19/03/2019 16:32

I don’t think even reading Ulysses in an accent would help it make sense 😂

I do think the teacher sounds like they were trying to engage the students rather than take the piss. And, as someone had already said, certain poets actively encourage you to use their accent (Grace Nichols, Ben Zephaniah, Tom Leonard).

Can’t we see it as celebrating and raising the culture rather than taking the mick? And kids muck about after class- shock horror!

Teaching poetry can be really hard- I think they are just trying to do their job (not turn kids off poetry!)

ApolloandDaphne · 19/03/2019 16:39

I remember reading Pam Ayres poetry and being encouraged to copy her accent. It made it more fun and i still recall it many years later. I am Scottish btw so the accent didn't come naturally to me! I also like hearing people trying to read Burns in a Scottish accent.

arethereanyleftatall · 19/03/2019 16:42

I think almost every story I have ever read my children since they were tiny, will have involved me attempting different voices, accents etc. They love it. Isn't that all the teacher was doing?
It would be a real shame to have to read everything only in one accent.

BigFatGiant · 19/03/2019 16:45

Well clearly the teacher lacks sophistication but it’s hardly a problem. Just tell your child that she needs to learn better manners (not to mention a better appreciation for the arts!) than her educators.

SuziQ10 · 19/03/2019 17:10

I think it's a bit odd of the teacher to do this. And that's all. I'd give it no more thought.

SuziQ10 · 19/03/2019 17:14

Also, I remember studying GCSE eng texts (Duffy and Armatage) and some of the poetry was supposed to be read in an accent. One was Scottish, called the 6oclock news and the other was Jamaican, think it was called My mother-tongue. It was funny hearing the teacher read phonetically as they should be read and we all really enjoyed the poems and reading them ourselves. Part of the syllabus is to discuss accents and dialect. Could this be something similar.

cariadlet · 19/03/2019 17:18

My understanding of the OP was not that the teacher read the poem in an approximation of the poet’s own accent - but that the teacher was talking to them in the accent outwith the poem reading part. I think there would be a difference in the two. It didn’t sound respectful from what the OP posted, though obviously she wasn’t there. If it was done in a “let’s have a laugh at the silly accent” kind of way then it is inappropriate. Teaching our children to mock other people is not really what we want to get out of a lesson. It’s not my style anyway.

That was my take on it too.

Nothing wrong with trying to read aloud using the accent of the author/poet/character.
That's just an attempt to capture their (metaphorical) voice and - no matter how awful the accent turns out - it comes from an attempt to increase understanding of the text.
Everything wrong with doing a silly voice and encouraging stupid impressions ("top of the morning to ya").

donquixotedelamancha · 19/03/2019 17:22

@OP Are Titania McGrath?

Teaching Chemistry, I do millilitre unit conversation in a French accent and EZ isomerism in what can only be described as 'naff comedy German' to help the kids remember.

I shall hand myself in to the Wokestazi for my crimes.

Well clearly the teacher lacks sophistication

All the kids were talking about her lesson. She wasn't going for sophisticated.

FWIW I am a teacher and wouldn’t dream of doing this.

I'll bet you lessons are great fun.

Qwertylass · 19/03/2019 17:27

Tell your kid not to speak like it then. Why are teachers always at fault ?

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 19/03/2019 17:31

has anyone said that on this thread, Qwerty?

Original poster
Ispini · 19/03/2019 17:32

Thank you to those of you who made constructive comments. This is NOT a teacher bashing thread. As I said in my initial post I AM a teacher, I teach poetry and I have never imitated an accent of a poet. The teacher definitely was doing it in a pisstake way from what I can gather. My DD is very resilient and I generally hear absolutely nothing about school but this rattled her. She was actually very cross! I have no intentions of going in guns blazing but will mention it in passing the next time there is a PT meeting. Believe me I’ve been criticized for much less!

OP posts:
WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 19/03/2019 17:36

and I think that the issue with this specific example if that there is a history, a very recent history, of the English trampling all over the Irish, killing them no less, which is not the case with the French, for example. So personally I would be wary of appearing to be a Brit mocking the Irish.

But possibly I am expecting too much of some people to be aware or give a damn about that.

Qwertylass · 19/03/2019 17:36

The thread title was should I speak to the teacher? No is my opinion

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 19/03/2019 17:37

and has anyone on this thread said that teachers are always at fault, Qwerty?

Original poster
Ispini · 19/03/2019 17:38

Qwertylass I never said teachers are always at fault but with 20 years experience under my belt I can tell you I have worked with some twats.

Donquiot my lessons are very entertaining thank u I just don’t have to resort to imitating my students accents to make them so.

OP posts:
Qwertylass · 19/03/2019 17:43

No they haven't but these threads always end up with teacher was in the wrong. Just let us do our jobs.