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Original poster

Teacher ticks word 'brang' - I give up

82 replies

wheelsonthebus · 20/01/2011 11:45

My Y1 dc keeps using the word brang instead of brought. I keep correcting it. But when I saw one of dc's exercise books, the teacher had ticked the word "brang". (holds head in hands emoticon). Should I bring this sort of thing up with the school or just gloss over it? It's not the first time this has happened...(ie, it's happened with other words)

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ponyprincess · 20/01/2011 11:56

It sounds frustrating if you are working on improving something and you feel the teacher is undermining the efforts!

I am not sure the context of the work, but could she have ticked it to highlight it as needing correction, rather than a 'good work' tick?

Past tense can be hard and errors like that I think are not uncommon and will probably sort itself out anyway, but if it really bothered me, I would mention it to the teacher. You could do it in non-confrontational way, like say you are working to correct this and has she noticed it or does she have any strategies to suggest?

Acinonyx · 20/01/2011 11:57

It's common in some dialects but I would be unable to resist sending a note or commenting to the teacher.

Feenie · 20/01/2011 12:29
Shock
crazygracieuk · 20/01/2011 12:46

[shudders]

lou33 · 20/01/2011 12:55

i wonder of that explains why ds1 keeps using the word "brang" then, even though i keep correcting him

i would bring it up somehow, i have done at times with ds2 and his school work

i was a bit cheeky and corrected the teacher's errors in red pen Grin

gabid · 20/01/2011 13:00

Hmm, Ds (Y1) does that quite a bit still, he is bilingual and I always try to correct him indirectly by repeating the sentence by saying: Oh, so you are saying that ...
In his writing I at his level I just encourage him to write as much as possible and only focusing on one thing, e.g. full stops and ignoring any other mistakes.

But you said the teacher ticked it? Maybe just ask her non-confrontational questions, e.g. how she teaches writing and how she corrects mistakes etc.

SE13Mummy · 20/01/2011 14:18

Definitely have a word with the teacher. It may be that 'brang' has been ticked because s/he has used one of the graphemes for the 'a' sound correctly, or maybe the 'ng' or the 'br' and so it is not the incorrect word that is being ticked, but your DC's use of phonics knowledge they've been practising in class. Maybe.

MadamDeathstare · 20/01/2011 14:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FreudianSlipIntoMyLaptop · 20/01/2011 14:25

Agree with madam - understand the frustration though...

wombly · 20/01/2011 14:27

Dd2 didn't get out of brang until she got to secondary school. Shock There was another one similar which I can't recall.

Original poster
wheelsonthebus · 20/01/2011 14:30

Good advice - I won't go in 'all guns blazing'. I just find the whole thing a little dispiriting. An isolated misspelling is ok, but there was another one last week (different age group).

OP posts:
katiestar · 20/01/2011 17:32

My 13 year old whi is at grammar school still says 'brung'

geraldinetheluckygoat · 20/01/2011 18:38

did she tick "brang" because it was spelt right? Maybe she was just concentrating on the general gist of the writing, rather than wether it was gramatically correct, iyswim?

Correcting a teacher's comments in red pen?? Wow, how to make your kids' teachers hate you!!

doricpatter · 20/01/2011 18:44

I agree with Madam. It's hopefully just a mistake - surely?! - but shouldn't go unchallenged.

jinglesticks · 20/01/2011 18:52

I think it depends on the subject and age of child. I teach secondary school and as I don't teach English our dept policy is not to correct mis-spellings unless it's a subject-specific technical word, as it can dishearten children who have real problems with spelling to have their work scribbled all over in red pen.

However, if she actually ticked the word to signify that she thought it was spelt correctly then she is a fool!

(A parent did mark my marking once. I took at as a sign that they were a twunt)

MarniesMummy · 20/01/2011 18:53

I brang it up, 'nd the teacher said it was fine, innitGrin!

Appalling!
One of my DC's children has taught them to say hay-itch for h. Not happy!!

lou33 · 20/01/2011 20:27

actually she didnt mind at all, i spoke to her about it

i would do it again , it wasnt as if it was the first and only time homework had been set with incorrect spellings or maths crosswords that were impossible to finish because of mathematical errors

HumphreyCobbler · 20/01/2011 20:34

It could just be a tick that landed in the wrong place.

Correcting a teacher's work and sending it back is very rude indeed. Bring it up in person instead.

lou33 · 20/01/2011 20:43

i did both

i dont see why it is wrong to highlight important errors, i want to ensure my kids are being taught how to spell correctly

IntotheNittyGritty · 20/01/2011 20:44

ask the teacher what it means!

HumphreyCobbler · 20/01/2011 20:47

I think you should give the professional teaching your child the courtesy of not treating them like a pupil, that's all. Of course you should ensure that your children are being taught to spell correctly, and if the teacher really has a problem then it should be addressed. But not by 'marking' their work.

Sometimes it could just be the equivalent of a typo. Teachers are often marking books in class with the child watching (this is good practice as it ensures stuff is dealt with while still fresh for the child), and this means that a lot is going on at the same time. Even your first post in this thread has of instead of if, it can happen to all of us

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 20:52

Can't believe any of you would be so rude as to bring up a mistake a teacher's made. None of us is infallible; what about all the thousands of fantastic things the teacher does for your child - do you ever comment on them? I'm sure the teacher would be polite and say they didn't mind but bet they would be secretly fuming at your damn cheek!

lou33 · 20/01/2011 21:11

maybe one mistake could be overlooked yes, but 4 in one piece of homework, no

like i said i spoke to her and highlighted where the mistakes were

i see her every day as i have to take ds2 right into the classroom, so we do have a relationship instead of me randomly sending in angrily marked work

lou33 · 20/01/2011 21:13

and yes i do also tell her and ds2's ta's how much i appreciate all the good things they do fro him too, but regardless of what anyone says i am not going to ignore important mistakes in case it upsets them

Feenie · 20/01/2011 21:17

Any teacher ticking 'brang' can expect to be asked why. It's not rude to do so.