Pedantry at parents' evening

[GooseyLoosey]

Was parents' evening last night.

All ds's (5) books were out for us to look at. We picked up his literacy book and read comment praising his use of "the coma".

I was happy to let the spelling go, but try as I might I could not see any "comas" in his work.

We then sat down and talk to the teacher who begins to tell us how good his written work is and that he knows just where to put the comma in "isn't". The penny drops - she means apostrophe.

Dh and I tried not to say anything at the time as she really is a good teacher, but it was really hard.

Nggggghhhh

hundred:

It is hers too.

See, now we've got a primary school teacher correcting a university lecturer on the proper use of an apostrophe.

I love it when threads do this.

spongebrain - if you're not a primary school teacher shuddup about it, as all is good in my universe at this exact moment.

I am a primary school teacher, well I was anyway!

You see, some primary teachers do know how to spell and understand the basics of grammar!

"I am a university lecturer, and I am constantly appalled by the dreadful grammar and spelling of my students. It's no wonder if this is how they are taught from primary school onwards."

Do you know, I hear university lecturers saying this all the time. So often, that it is begining to get tiresome. I also hear this from my sister, an academic, who can be rather prone to mistakes herself.

There has been a huge rise in teh percentage of the population going to university. Let's not just go on about 'the state of primary teaching nowadays' when one bad case arises.

lol @ rogue apostrophe

pointydog, it's not so much the primary teachers themselves as the system that is the problem.

I was told I was not allowed to correct all the spelling mistakes children made because this might "damage their self esteem". Hence, I actually heard children say, "that word must be spelt correctly because Miss hasn't corrected it"!

It used to drive me insane!!

It's not so much you can't correct all teh spelling mistakes as you can't correct spelling all of the time. When you are focussing on spelling, you correct all spelling.

(hiding behind the sofa just incase)
I am a teacher and have at no point called an apostrophe a comma i work on the basis that you teach children the correct vocabulary. But i suppose others might think differently.

I would approach the teacher and just have a quiet word as others have suggested, I know i wouldn't be offended if something was brought to my attention.

Pointydog, I'm sure that there are many excellent primary school teachers out there.

I teach a humanities subject at a top ten university. My students have scored mostly 'A's at A-Level. To be fair, many of them do write very well. I think that even those who hand in error-laden essays are also capable of spelling correctly, when they can be bothered.

The problem is, is that many people can't be bothered and think that a few mistakes won't matter. But they do. I don't think I'm quite Lynne Truss, but I do believe that one shouldn't just let standards slide and make excuses for people (and this teacher) just because they are nice.

Me neither, as I've said earlier, laurens.

However, I am tired of the glib and easy put-down of primary teaching (soemetimes secondary) by academics when there are other more compelling reasons to explore.

But the point is, is (see what I did there?) that she's a good teacher who has enlivened her ds, and made him keen on school for the first time, it's not just that she is nice. We don't actually know if she is nice.

However do feel the quiet word is the way to go.

Work got in the way of this much more exciting discussion about apostrophes.

Ds worked out where to put them from his own reading, followed by an explanation from us when he asked about them. She has not yet taught the class about this. However, the ORT books do use verbal contractions fairly frequently so children are clearly expectyed to have some degree of familiarity with apostrophes.

I must say, it is very comfy here in this dusty corner with you pedants.

You have pulled yourself out of a sticky situation, 100, and are now making a valid point.

Pointy, I'm not putting down primary school teachers. I don't think for a moment I'm better than them just because I teach at a university. Indeed, I think their job is much more difficult than mine and I admire them greatly. It is a whole lot harder to inspire and keep the attention of 30 five year olds than it is 30 20 year olds.

However, the best teachers (at all levels) should both inspire enthusiasm AND impart correct knowledge to their students. As I see it, those are the two key components of the job.

May be it is a bit heavy-handed to go to the head - but the fact remains that this teacher seems to be failing at the very thing she is supposed to accomplish as a teacher.

you did put down primary teaching. SHortly before you wrote her's

I'll leave it there.

Nobody noticed HLaurens is, is problem and I didn't want to upset her by pointing it out, but am worried she is letting her standards slip.

Will you go for the quiet word then Goose?

Actually, I'm not sure that she is nice. She is quite scary in many ways, but she manages to get and keep the attention of the children which has to be worth a lot.

However, I dread the day when ds comes home and says "Mrs X says this is called a comma and YOU told me it was an apostrophe. YOU were wrong!"

at not nice.

Right, let's have there then

Hundred - actually as ds does know that they are called apostrophes, I was wondering about getting him to mention it as I am clearly too craven to do so. Am thinking of scenarios where he could casually drop it in to a lesson somewhere...

My polite correction of teachers' mis-spellings in my DS's home school link book has been well received
(which may not be the case with the housing benefit claim with all the spelling and grammar mistakes on the form pointed out )