How would you feel if a year 4 teacher wrote this comment on your child s work

[Beetroot]

' Some interesting facts but lacks any imagination'

Don't really agree with Twiglett. I think that even if the project did lack any imagination at all the feedback from the teacher should have been more constructive.
This is the sort of thing that really damages the confidence of children. It shouldn't happen.

We need to encourage more teachers to tell children when work is bad, not all the time of course but if eveyone is always good they never do better. It's a key difference between state schools (every child is the same and wonderful ) and private schools.

Now now Xenia, no need for that. You're just being provocative!! You know perfectly well that isnt true!!!

Xenia - that's ridiculous.

Agree with other posters re: making a +ve comment, then a suggestion for improvement.

eg. 'You present facts clearly, but your work would be more interesting to read if you included more description' (or your own opinions, or a more striking layout - depends on the task, obviously).

At secondary the minimum we'd be expected to write is one 'praise' & one 'target' comment. Sometimes I use target stickers with things like 'paragraphs' or 'punctuation' on, because you can't write a detailed personal comment on 30 books EVERY night...

But it does have to give specific guidance - not just what's wrong, but how it can be improved.

TBH Primary school children shouldn't be getting homework till year 6 anyway IMO

so fark em

Not the best wording, but it is her job to 'grade' the work not just praise it to the hilt in order to spare upset.
Dd has had similar in the past from a maths teacher who didn't do warm and fuzzy comments on work!

The teachers job is not to 'praise it to the hilt' but neither is it any use telling them it is 'rubbish'!
They should be able to find something to praise and then some constructive remarks on how it could be improved next time.
I can only think that Xenia is being deliberately provocative!

While I think praise is good, why give it if it is not deserved? Perhaps your child's work DID lack "any imagination". Yes, it's a criticism but it may have been warranted and thefore, imho, ok.

of course it didn't lack any fucking imagination fgs

AbbeyA - I really don't see why on earth you think Xenia is being provocative. It would be so unlike her.

Beetroot - This comment would annoy me too. Something along the lines of 'Interesting facts, but you could have used your imagination more in expanding this bit and that bit'would have been so much more helpful. How did your DD react to the comment, Beety?

Xenia - will you stop with the state schools are this that and the other FGS. Have you ever been inside a good state school in your life? I would be happy to show you around our EXCELLENT state primary school to put your mind at rest about the quality of the education that our children are receiving - I am sick of hearing you banging on about how state school children don't get all the extras that private school children receive when you know absolutely NOTHING about it.