Teacher using the B - word.

[Cabanabar]

My sons Geography teacher has upset him by calling his handwriting ‘bad.’ Son is very dyslexic, has an EHCP and is in Year 7 of a mainstream boys school. Truth be told his handwriting is pretty illegible due to his difficulties with spelling and punctuation, but I feel he needs encouragement from teachers not this kind of negative language. The school has an intake of over 40% EHCP kids, if you’re wondering why I sent him there. I thought they would be more sensitive to issues surrounding dyslexia. I am thinking of making a complaint to the Head. AIBU?

It's not great, and could maybe have been presented more constructively, but I wouldn't go to the head over it. You say his handwriting IS bad - does your DS recognise this himself? If he does, it's probably better for you to encourage him to work on improving it a bit. Look online for some strategies and see what works.

I'm sorry your DS was upset by this. What was the context in which it was said? In front of the class or in private? As a teacher, it would seem hugely disproportionate to contact the Head about this. Maybe just talk to the teacher about DS's problems at parents' evening or mention to his tutor that it had happened and upset him?

Some of our dyslexic pupils use a laptop if their handwriting is poor - could he do this?

Context is everything but in general if his handwriting is bad then he needs to find a way to improve it, my handwriting is terrible btw!

The teacher is being honest and dyslexia isn't a reason for bad handwriting that is common

😂😂😂 OMG I thought you meant "Bastard"... what a let down

I thought it was going to be balls, like "you've really ballsed up that handwriting" so at least it's not that.

magiclinkhandwriting.com/the-solution-to-poor-handwriting-and-dyslexia/ could something like this help?

I am thinking of making a complaint to the Head. AIBU?

Yes.

You need to go at this like an adult. Use the word 'bad' and not 'the b word', and most importantly find out from the teacher first exactly what was said and in what context.

For example your child may have made no effort at all that day, and the teacher may have been pointing that out.

Once you've spoken to the teacher, if you're still not happy, then make a complaint to the Head.

@DuplicateUserName completely agree, but even then I would say maybe Head of Year rather than Head?

If his handwriting is illegible, it will make it difficult for examiners marking his papers to give him marks.

It will also slow him down.

I recommend the handwriting course 'speed up' that will help develop more fluid handwriting. It's designed for up to 13yrs to help them.

If this doesn't work you may need to talk to the school SENCO about him using a laptop as a normal way of working, so that he would be able to use that for his exams.

I thought it was going to be Bugger.

Me too! Our art teacher regularly used to call us bloody bastards, we thought it was hilarious. He also told me my art was erotic, I went home & told mom, she said I don’t think he said erotic.

Kindly, his handwriting is bad. She said so. She cannot help him if she can’t read his writing. You appear to be applying some kind of moral judgement that isn’t there - making his bad handwriting a character flaw is going to harm his self-esteem and you’re the one doing that, not the teacher.

Seriously?! Your son knows his handwriting is ‘bad’, a teacher saying it won’t make any difference. Give him a laptop to use.

I as expecting Bastard or Bitch at the very least.

DS1’s handwriting is shocking, also as a result of an additional need. He’s perfectly aware of it - he’d have to be blind not to - has been told it’s not acceptable by many teachers. If they can’t read his work, they can’t assess it.

He and I weren’t precious about the fact they told him it was bad. We were more interested in the solution. In his case, that’s using a laptop.

Another post where a parent treats a school as an opportunity to sharpen their TripAdvisor pencil and “complain” rather than constructively engage with people that are taking what sounds like a lead role with your DC.

YABU.

Op, THIS nonsense is why teachers are leaving. You are not allowed to say a single thing that isn't the perfectly correct thing to say all day every day, or a parent will complain. Yabu.

I'd use the comment as a push for the school to let him use a laptop.

I thought it was going to be that 🤣🤣

A laptop will definitely help with coursework but he'll still have to practice his handwriting if it's bad, because it's a skill he'll need to use in daily life.

I completely agree with your ds using a laptop for all written work and Exams. You can request it (and push it) at his next EHCP Review meeting, but I'd still contact the Senco first, who might also agree it's a good idea. Most schools have some 'in stock', like a Chromebook, that have limited uses beyond Schoolwork.

It worked for DS. I wouldn't focus on a teacher calling his handwriting "bad", it probably is after all.

Your DS is in secondary school now where things tend to be a little more robust than primary, perhaps rather than complaining to the head you should consider, especially giving that your child has an EHCP and will probably need advocating for on a much more serious scale, whether this is the thing that you want to go to the Head over.

Your DS has bad handwriting. How can that be either improved or worked around (e.g. use of a laptop)?

Eh? So teachers can't use the word bad now? 😆 I told a student a few weeks ago that his writing was not legible and he would need to make it clearer for exam purposes. It's an effort to help the student achieve. Whether he does anything with my advice is up to him. No, he does not have SN. Teachers have to be honest. It's part of the job.

A teacher telling a pupil their handwriting is bad but not encouraging methods to improve it / find other ways to ensure they can communicate in writing isn't really doing their job.

Handwriting can be hard for people. Especially in a world where we write less and less.

It would be good if a teacher could see if they could suggest alternatives etc to ensure they can read the pupil's work.

A mainstream boys school with 40% of pupils with an EHCP?

What was the actually sentence the teacher said?