To think the teacher just made a mistake, rather than lacking knowledge?

[Lis1992]

Interesting conversation with a friend today! They were telling a story about a teacher they had in high school (they were schooled in America) who they thought didn’t have enough knowledge of the course content. They said one time a student asked in class if the new poet they were about to study, was still alive. The teacher said no they’ve passed. The student pointed out the textbook said they were still alive and well and in their 70’s. And this was the truth. The teacher passed it off and said he got mixed up. AIBU to think it could have been a mistake and the teacher might have been new to teaching that topic etc. Or is it a serious lack of content knowledge/ lack of preparation. Just curious on people’s thoughts

That's just a mistake. If that was the only thing they could find wrong with the lesson, they sound a bit spiteful, tbh.

@OhComeOnFFS that’s what I reckoned! The way my friend referred it was as though the teacher knew nothing! Yet she said he knew the poems he was teaching, which is the actual course! she’s out of school years and still remembered it!

What a thing to remember from school!

Well, I'd take away from that conversation that if you ever pee your friend off, she's going to remember it FOREVER 😆

Why is this still even on her radar?
She sounds a bit dim.

Just a mistake. And it’s much more important to be analysing the poet’s work than learning biographical detail about them.

This does seem like a really weird thing for either you or your friend to even be thinking about though

Well, I don't like the 'gotcha!' air of this, and the fact that it was remembered by someone presumably well into adulthood from their own schooldays, suggests they think it makes some point about the fallibility or poor training of teachers, or the crapness of education or something. But at the same time, I wouldn't be that impressed with a literature teacher being so uninvolved in the contemporary literary scene that they didn't know whether a major poet was alive or not.

Worth pointing out, though, that the textbook was not necessarily up to date -- people die all the time, and if the textbook said the poet in question was in his/her 70s, it's not outside the bounds of possibility that they'd died between the publication of that edition of the book and the moment the teacher was engaging with the material.

See also 'unreliable shite on the Internet'.

"Interesting conversation with a friend today"

Not really that interesting considering it was years ago 🤣

Lordy, your mate needs some better stories

For anyone who missed the point ……I say interesting because it shows how harsh people can be on teachers etc.
opens up a discussion.

It sounds like a mistake.

I'd wonder why an adult was so hung up on that years later to be honest.

Has your friend got so little going on that that moment is some sort of significant gotcha moment for her?

Imagine being this pleased with yourself for catching someone out years ago! I am useless with things like this, when I hear about celebrities dying half the time I'm surprised because I thought they were already dead 😬

I think it says far more about your friend than the teacher in question. He or she must be a bit of a dullard and quite self-righteous to trot this non-anecdote out after a long time?

I clicked YABU because I dont think thats at all interesting sorry. Sort of mistake that happens all the time. Like a few days ago when I told my daughter that Petula Clark died decades ago.

Totally not true. She is 90 and very much alive!

It doesn’t sound like an interesting conversation tbh. I mean, who cares. Really.

I know that quite often I'll read a news report about a famous person's death and think "Oh I thought they'd died years ago". It's exactly the same here. The teacher was probably thinking that student was a pain in the arse anyway and didn't give the answer a second thought.

The fact the student still remembered what they were taught is a sign that the teacher did a good job.

This person sounds like a dickhead who likes to think they are better than other people.

Have you looked up the poet and when they died and compared it to the date of the person's lessons? I'd love to catch them out on it.

@Lis1992

This "friend" sounds insufferable. HA! GOTCHA! How pathetic. None of us are perfect, and TEACHERS don't know everything. (Even about the subject they teach.)

When I go and see a GP, they often google things when I tell them something in particular thing is wrong, and the symptoms etc, which I do find disconcerting! But.. as I say no-one is perfect!

Just demonstrates a pathetic attitude to teachers. They can't know everything, all the time.

Unless your friend finished school last week it's really an odd thing to bring up. Do they normally feel the need to show they are superior to others?

How do people even remember things like that 😂

I think when you have someone in a position of authority, whose literal job is to teach you things, it can be unsettling when they say things that turn out not to be true.

So many teachers state things are gospel when they're not entirely sure, when in actual fact it'd be better to encourage the students to have a look at the text book, or look online, for themselves.

The relationship between a student and a teacher has to be a trusting one, and this means the teacher needs to be able to be open and honest about when they don't know things or aren't sure.

Omg remembering that all your life and thinking its interesting conversation.

@DramatisPersonae

But at the same time, I wouldn't be that impressed with a literature teacher being so uninvolved in the contemporary literary scene that they didn't know whether a major poet was alive or not.

I've missed the part where it says ur was a major poet.
Where did you read that?

I can remember a year 4 music lesson where we were learning about tunes/patterns and how they can be the same in different songs and they used the example of 'pack up your troubles in your old kit bag' and 'it's a long way to Tipperary' and a boy (I could even tell you his name but don't want to out myself 😂) asked our teacher where Tipperary was and he said it was a made up place.

I don't know why I remember that over 20 years later but don't know where my keys are but I have several 'non event' memories that are extremely vivid 🤷 I like to think I'm still an interesting person and I tend not to bring them up unless relevant! 8 year old me was incredulous that he didn't know but on hindsight I expect he was bored of the disruption and didn't want to then get into 'where in Ireland' saga so just said anything to shut him up, expect the teacher in op's story was probably similar!

How unrealistic and unreasonable - how can any teacher especially a primary school one who teaches anything from maths to PE to history to poetry or a high school teacher who may teach everything ‘Science’ or teach 2 wide topics know everything? It sounds like a mistake, which as adults we all make from time to time!