Grammar and teachers

[Usersooty]

I went to a popular theme park last week. Masses of school trips.

I heard so many teachers/TA’s speaking using grammatically incorrect language. It really shocked me and as we waited in (endless) queues I listened to lots of “we haven’t got no snacks”, “we’ll go toilet after this” etc etc.

I have never heard a single member of staff at my childrens schools speak like this. I’d be really concerned if they did.

It made me quite sad for the children being taught/supported academically by them.

I didn’t stare, I didn’t comment. I wasn’t rude at all. Prepared to get flamed, but AIBU to be surprised by this?

Definitely an English thing.

@JMSA an English thing? How?

They were probably accompanying parents.

@IsThePopeCatholic they weren’t. We were very close together for ages (queuing) and I could see their lanyards….

Get a grip! Oh, and you’ve missed an apostrophe off in your post - shock horror!

Have you seen what TAs are paid?

@Houseplantmad yes. I know lots. None of them speak like this.

Not incorrect. Just regional dialect/variations.

You'd have a point if children were being taught in an English GCSE class that this was the correct way to write in their essay.

Otherwise, as long as everyone in the conversation understood the communication, the language did its job.

Spoken language has a lot of regional varieties. Many of them don't use standard grammar. Using Standard English grammar is in the teacher standards but not for other school staff.

I'd be concerned if non-standard grammar was taught in an English lesson but couldn't get too worked up about overhearing some conversations on a school trip.

They were using their own dialect instead of standard English. As long as they teach standard English for formal writing in classrooms there is no issue.

This

Would any of you really be happy with your primary age children being told to “go toilet” rather than “go to the toilet” by a member of staff at school? Is that really the way you’d like your own children to speak?

As long as you teach your children how to say things correctly then get a life 🤷‍♀️

@tulippa But surely children learn language from speech just as much as formal lessons? What is the point of a teacher teaching the correct grammar in a lesson but then undoing that work by speaking incorrectly at other times?

I used to work in a school in Leicestershire, they all said 'go toilet' or 'go shops'

It's a regional thing

And no. I wouldn't care unless my child was forced to copy it. People learn to accept variations in speech without imploding.

Regional accents, I have a Scouse one, doesn’t affect my ability to get my pupils good grades

Ok, so my children learn Spanish. If their Spanish teacher spoke Spanish to them in lessons but Catalan in break times and lunch times, that would be really confusing. How is this different?

The grammar use in their spoken language is non-standard. It's not incorrect.

@Antoninus accents are a completely different thing. A teacher with a Scouse accent wouldn’t bother me a bit.

I'm a retired teacher and I agree teachers should use correct grammar and don't always. It is possible on this occasion that parent helpers could have lanyards or they could have been TAs or Midday supervisors on the trip who, in my experience, are more likely to use regional dialect.

No, because it means my spoken English is not rp. We say ‘yous’ rather than you for instance

I have to agree, OP. In my region it is extremely common to hear mainly support staff, but sometimes teachers, using phrases such as "pick up them pencils" or "he shouldn't have came in", or sentences with double negatives. Unfortunately, most of them actually believe they speak great English.😥

I even had to grit my teeth once when I was in a school as a supply teacher, when a little boy was told off for saying nowt instead of nothing, when I wanted to tell the TA who said it that she was just as wrong as the child for using nothing when she should have said anything!

The problem is that nobody wants to be a teacher.

I am sure that you don't want to be one

Most people who care about grammar would not want to be a teacher.

@MrWhippersnapper no, you get a grip.

People lack so much ambition for their children if this is acceptable.

I get that there are LOTS of things that are more important in schools but GOOD GRIEF.

People complain that it’s hard for working class children to progress but then cling on to non-standard language as a badge of honour. The reverse snobbery is hideous and does children no favours at all.