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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to despair when I saw a teacher today spelling...

92 replies

emkana · 12/12/2008 20:18

... beautiful as...

"beautifle"

OP posts:
roundcornvirgin · 12/12/2008 21:22

Yes I have worked with dyslexic teachers. If you are well prepared then it not so much of a problem. If you are recognised as being dyslexic you would be supported with that. However not all teachers with poor spelling / grammar are dyslexic.

ladylush · 12/12/2008 21:22

Meaning what is useful for dyslexics?

ladylush · 12/12/2008 21:23

roundcornvirgin - what support is there for dyslexic teachers? Just interested.

roundcornvirgin · 12/12/2008 21:31

Firstly most dyslexics are very well aware of the nature of their difficulties and are well used to working harder than non-dyslexics to compensate for this. They would naturally develop strategies to help themselves to cope, because they always have done. There is lots of support for dyslexics at the teacher training stage from tutors . The dyslexic teachers I have worked with would liaise closely with other staff for planning etc.

ladylush · 12/12/2008 22:22

Yes, I can see that they are likely to put more work in. A lot of the poor spellers I've met have not been dyslexic - they've just never learned how to spell properly and don't care enough about it to use a dictionary. My own spelling is much worse than it used to be because I don't read as much as I used to - but I tend to use a dictionary a lot because I am if I don't spell accurately.

sleepyeyes · 13/12/2008 03:20

This thread has made me feel very blue.
I would like to train as a teacher in the near future but one thing I really worry about is the fact that I'm an awful speller.
I was tested/evaluated many times as a child to try and find the cause, nothing was ever found. My techers and parents insisted I was a bright student with good grades it shouldn't hold me back.

So far it hasn't but the snobbery on this thread proves that I will be looked down on for my terrible spelling.

It isn't always possible to carry a dictornery, spell checker or google a word.

MmeHereWeGoAWassailLindt · 13/12/2008 08:05

Sleepyeyes
I am sorry if this thread has upset you. If my DC's teacher genuinly (ha! Not sure how to spell that) had a problem with spelling then I would be sympathetic. It is not snobbery but a feeling of sadness that so many young adults have been let down by the education system. When I was at school [old fogey emoticon] there was a change from the old style teaching to the "let them express themselves and never mind about spelling". It seems to me that a lot if children just did not learn to spell. It is not something that children just pick up, it has to be learnt and taught.

If a teacher had difficulty with spelling, for whatever reason , but was a fantastic teacher then I would accept that. I would however hope that she would spellcheck any letters home to the parents, notices to be hung up in the classroom, spelling lists etc.

SatsumaMoon · 13/12/2008 08:38

sleepyeyes, it's not snobbery it's being practical. Would you try to teach someone French if you couldn't speak it yourself? If someone is unable/unwilling to spell correctly I personally think that is a fundamental skill which would impact on their ability to teach literacy. Obv different if you are a science teacher at secondary, for example.

needmorecoffee · 13/12/2008 08:42

so teachers wgo can't spell are ok. What about teachers who can't count teaching our kids maths?
Teachers should be able to spell and if they can't maybe they should learn.

VinegarTitsTheSeasonToBeJolly · 13/12/2008 08:50

Yanbu teachers should be able to spell, its part of their job, however i am sure it doesnt mean they dont do their job well

LiffeyCanSpellGeansaiNollaig · 13/12/2008 08:53

What if somebody who's failed their driving test ten times really wants to drive the school bus? Should they be supported or should they find a different job???

My dd's teacher has no idea where to put an apostrophe. Letters come home reminding parents to send in trainers on Monday's and Wednesday's. I have Tipp-exd out the apostrophes and popped the note back in the homework wallet. I hoped he would noticed and then correct his mistake the following week. I'm not sure I can cope with this for the next 30 wks! I'll explode!!

VirginBoffinMum · 13/12/2008 08:56

I think it's a bloody odd state of affairs when teachers only have to have a C in English and Maths at GCSE, rather than an A. It doesn't say a lot about how we value these subjects.

LiffeyCanSpellGeansaiNollaig · 13/12/2008 08:57

Sleepyeyes, it's nothing to do with snobbery! I can life with 'beautifle' on an internet forum, but if somebody is being paid to teach my children that that is how you spell beautiful, then I would be entitled to feel cross. I believe so anyway.

My dd's teacher is fantastic. He used to work with special needs children and I think he does go the extra mile, knows all the children very well, they all love him, he's excellent at disguising work as play! ON balance I wouldn't want them to swap him for somebody else who knew where to put an apostrophe. But I'll admit, it surprises me that he doesn't know. He should know. Just learn. It's not hard.

mm22bys · 13/12/2008 09:05

A teacher should be able to spell "beautiful". If a teacher could not spell "beautiful", I would not want him/her to teach my child.

sleepyeyes · 13/12/2008 11:27

Boffin Mum, I have 3 Highers at an A including English. I did intermediate maths.My maths could have been much better, but the year before I had a bully for a maths teacher who thought it was fun to humiliate you in front of the whole class for daring to ask for help so I rarely ever asked and it really effected my confidence in my abilities.

I have signed up to do Higher maths in June. I've already bought the course books and old exam papers to make a head start with as I know this is an area were I am not as strong as I should be.
I believe my maths result is good enough (Int 2) to be expect for a PGCE but personally I don't feel it is good enough which is why I'm re-doing it.

Spelling: Its not something I have given up on improving, I'm currently looking at maybe trying to adapt some sort of dyslexia programme to help with it.

I dearly love children and would not attempt to go into teaching unless I thought I was capable in all areas.

It seems like a lot of parents would be very unhappy for me teach their children so I'm now reconsidering my plans.

sleepyeyes · 13/12/2008 11:30

Expect = accepted.

lovecat · 13/12/2008 11:52

Don't think the OP is BU.

I have a teacher in the amdram show I'm currently directing (she doesn't have kids and never wants to so I'm fairly sure I'm safe posting this!).

One of her lines is 'should it be in a menagerie?' (Victorian setting)

She couldn't say it. Even with myself and several other cast members saying it, sounding it syllable by syllable, saying 'short a, hard 'j' sound for the g', writing it out phonetically, she couldn't say it - still kept saying menarrrgy. She is NOT dyslexic.

And then she said 'what is a menarrrgy, anyway? I've never heard of it'

Perhaps I'm being unreasonable myself, but I didn't think it was silly to hope that a 30 year old woman who has a degree and TEACHES ENGLISH TO A LEVEL would know what a menagerie is, even if she's never heard the word pronounced?

So the line is now 'is it in a zoo?'

And I have become my mother

VirginBoffinMum · 13/12/2008 12:00

Sleepyeyes, I think that is very noble regarding the maths, and shows you respect learning. Anyone can learn anything if they apply themselves, so you will be fine. I only have a B at O Level myself but would make myself do A Level if I had to teach kids maths.

DumbledoresGirl · 13/12/2008 12:00

Am that some people here are saying that it doesn't matter if teachers make the odd spelling mistake. Maybe not if the teacher teaches Maths or ICT or PE etc in a secondary school, but if definitely matters very much if they are a primary school teacher. No wonder literacy levels are so poor!

I am a primary school teacher and I know better than most the failings of many of my colleagues. The inability to spell (or at the very least the inability to look up a word they are unsure of in a dictionary) is, IMO, inexcusable.

VirginBoffinMum · 13/12/2008 12:02

All teachers should spell properly. If they can't, they should make more effort. These things matter.

christywhisty · 13/12/2008 12:07

MY DS's Headmaster is dyslexic, but is a brilliant HM. He has turned a school from a failing school to a school that is one of the best in the area. My DS (also dyslexic) is very happy there.
My DH is also dyslexic is an electronic engineer, he was not allowed to study computers in secondary school because he was considered not clever enough, because of his spelling and literacy problems.He now designs circuitry and has built his own computer from scratch.

He helped out at DC's primary at a science session and two different teachers came up to me a few days later and said he should cross train as a teacher.He is brilliant with children and is so good at explaining in a clear and interesting manner.Yet he can't spell.
I would much rather a teacher that can inspire my DC's than one who has excellent grammar and spelling but is boring.

countingto10 · 13/12/2008 12:10

Agree with Dumbledore. When I was at school 30+ years ago, I was told if I didn't know how to spell a word or know it's meaning then I was to look it up in a dictionary. That still holds true today - if I don't know how to spell a word or it's meaning, I look it up in a dictionary.

christywhisty · 13/12/2008 12:15

All very well but if you don't know the correct first few letters you can't find the word.
DS spells officially awfisherly and whole as howl
He wouldn't find either in the dictionary and the spell check on pc didn't pick up howl as it is a proper word.

ladylush · 13/12/2008 12:58

Dyslexia aside, I think every one should use a dictionary if unsure of a word. I am going to buy one for work as I don't have spell check on my work email. Sleepy eyes, I don't really have time in my job to look up a word I'm unsure of but I do it because I think it's important. The process of looking up a word helps you to remember how to spell it in future.

I agree with Christywisty - an inspiring, exciting teacher is what I would want for my dc. It would be great if they have the whole package but pickings are not always rich.

ladylush · 13/12/2008 12:58

christywhisty