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Online lesson etiquette for parents

38 replies

SincerelyBygones · 14/01/2021 12:22

DC has a live comprehension lesson each day in a small group. The children are in KS1, so parents have been asked to remain in the room with the children. The group follows the same topic for a week, and the same key vocabulary comes up each day. The children are asked to take turns to read aloud and then to use the vocabulary in their individual discussions.

When they are asked to read or use a certain word (topic-related, so doesn't necessarily come up in ordinary conversation), the teacher has 'mis-corrected' each child and she makes them say it her way, which she clearly believes to be the right way. But there are no alternatives to pronounce this word and she is unmistakably, bizarrely incorrect.

I thought at the outset that she was just having a one-off funny half hour. But now it is Thursday and she has been saying the word incorrectly all week.

I've no idea if this was happening before the school closures so don't know if it's a one-off. I appreciate that is somewhat unfair on the teaching staff to have to be observed teaching a lesson in this way, but that is the just the way it is right now.

What if it happens if this occurs in the future? Is there an etiquette for this? I have considered sending her an email, but it's hard to correct pronunciation in an email, and also it seems kind of personal. I could avoid mentioning it to her at all because I've told DC the correct pronunciation each time it has come up, but I'm not sure whether the other parents are picking up on this, especially as one of the parent's first language is not English.

Teachers and parents of online students: what is the best way to deal with this new situation? Even if it is a one-off for us, it is bound to be happening in an online classroom somewhere else out there, so I feel there ought to be a procedure to follow.

OP posts:
sherrystrull · 14/01/2021 14:15

It's a word that's easily mispronounced as many graphemes have alternative pronunciations.

donquixotedelamancha · 14/01/2021 14:28

I would have just corrected her first time.

Drives me nuts when I fuck something up in a lesson (as everyone inevitably does sometimes) and the kids just let me carry on. Often the child correcting you is wrong- but that's good because there is a misconception to explore.

I would be stunned at adults just letting that pass but I'm too used to hanging round with teachers who would have no such qualms :-)

GameSetMatch · 14/01/2021 14:43

Oh things like are really annoying, I probably wouldn’t say anything either because I wouldn’t want to embarrass her. My son’s teacher is teaching about capital letters and fulls stops which is fine but so annoying when she has her name on screen spelled without a capital letter🙄 We also receive correspondence from school with incorrect spelling.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 14/01/2021 17:12

@Cattenberg I get the feeling you are still narked at such injustice. I too have a horsey gripe. In Year 2 I was marked wrong for naming the parents of a foal as dam and sire. Obviously it still plays on my mind! These things stick people!!

Rollercoaster1920 · 14/01/2021 17:35

The internet is full of info. Including pronunciations. www.google.com/search?q=cholera+pronunciation

We all get things wrong, I learn by reading so often have had it pointed out to me that I've pronounced something incorrectly. It's life, but if no-one tells me then I'm none the wiser.

I'd get my child to bring it up with teacher though because I'm a coward!

Sausagessizzling · 14/01/2021 17:40

What the hell are they learning about??

But please just leave it. I'm a teacher near the edge and something like this would just break me.

Instead please spend your time writing a lovely email about how much you appreciate her had work and enjoy her lessons.

vickylou78 · 14/01/2021 18:23

@sausagesizzling yes I agree teachers have enough on don't they. Really not an issue!!

Letsgetthroughthis · 15/01/2021 08:54

@Sausagessizzling

What the hell are they learning about??

But please just leave it. I'm a teacher near the edge and something like this would just break me.

Instead please spend your time writing a lovely email about how much you appreciate her had work and enjoy her lessons.

This!
Cattenberg · 15/01/2021 09:18

@Dontfuckingsaycheese, at least we learnt at an early age that teachers are fallible and don’t know everything!

Allusernamestakenbutthis · 15/01/2021 14:49

Tell her other parents have been taking about it and you just want to help her out by telling her the correct pronunciation. At least then she wont be annoyed at you?

MGMidget · 18/01/2021 07:21

I think its worrying the teacher is mispronouncing this word. They are teaching KS1 when children are learning to read. If she is mispronouncing this word it would make me wonder how many otherwords she mispronounces. It will cause confusion in childrens reading and understanding of phonics.

VashtaNerada · 18/01/2021 07:33

Please don’t say anything about the pronunciation of one word. It’s not going to damage the children long-term but will absolutely shake the teacher’s confidence if they feel they’re being judged. I teach KS1 using live lessons and find it really quite uncomfortable when I remember there are parents in the room - I can only get through it by pretending they’re not there and just try my best to teach as if I’m in school! It’s really not worth it over one word. If, for example, you wanted to dispute an entire maths scheme that would be different and I’d advise a polite email to the Head, but leave this alone please.

NotMeNoNo · 18/01/2021 07:41

The teacher's name not being capitalised on Teams is probably down to how the account was set up by IT support. Sometimes these things are hard to change, but kids these days understand the difference between screen names/usernames and actual names.

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