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Primary education

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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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PlanetEarth · 20/01/2011 21:23

Grr, this is one of my bugbears. DD's spelling gets ticks right left and centre, even when she's spelt the same word in three different ways! And in a spelling book too, so no excuse (the teachers say that in creative writing they don't correct all errors in order to encourage children - yes, thanks, they've been greatly encouraged and have got through primary without much idea how to spell ).

Plus, it's been a battle to convince our children of the correct spellings without undermining their teachers.

I mentioned it at parents' evening one time, pointing out a double page in the spelling book with at least half-a-dozen errors and all marked correct. The teacher said something like, "Oh, I must not have been paying attention, I'll have to watch that."

PlanetEarth · 20/01/2011 21:24

Not that anyone says "brang" round this way!

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 21:29

All I'm suggesting is you respect and apprectiate your child's hardworking teacher. As is obvious by your own errors and lack of punctuation and capitalization, we are all prone to mistakes, particularly when stressed and busy.

lou33 · 20/01/2011 21:32

yes but my errors are not being photocopied and handed out to a classroom of kids or else i would be paying more attention

and it wasnt the first time it had happened either

HumphreyCobbler · 20/01/2011 21:37

I do think that errors (if they are repeated) need to be dealt with, just not by marking their work.

four errors in a spelling list and I would be going in to discuss it too

if you don't get anywhere talking to the teacher then I would bring that up with the head teacher tbh.

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 21:40

I can't comment on your particular teacher - maybe she is a nightmare and you are right to complain. But just a word of advice - every teacher I know takes their job very seriously and certainly do mind when people complain. Especially if the complaints are petty and make the teacher feel undervalued after all the incredibly hard work they put in.

Feenie · 20/01/2011 21:43

I disagree - as I said, most teachers would expect this particular mistake to be brought up, and would be happy to discuss it.

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 21:50

In my experience I completely disagree - maybe they would expect the mistake to be brought up - by a few choice parents(!) - but would not be happy to discuss it

Feenie · 20/01/2011 21:52

Why not? It's a grammar mistake - none of us are infallible. Sometimes you have to apologise and suck it up. It shouldn't have been ticked.

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 21:54

If it's just a grammar mistake why make a big deal about it?

lou33 · 20/01/2011 21:57

i used a red pen to write the correct spelling next to the incorrect one, and when i took ds in the next morning i explained to both his morning ta and his teacher what i had done and why

i also found a laminated card in his bag which was used to remind him to wear his glasses, but they had written specks instead of specs, so i talked about that as well, and they removed it to replace with a properly spelled one

then a few days later he was sent home with a maths crossword that was not possible to finish due to more errors, and i highlighted that and mentioned it as well

i see his teacher every morning, and his ta's both morning and afternoon, so probably have more involvement with them than most parents, iyswim

we all seem to have survived redpengate without anyone taking offence

i was told afterwards i wasnt the only one to say/do something

Feenie · 20/01/2011 21:59

Er....because the teacher is teaching dcs grammar, and unfortunately there are a few teachers whose Literacy standards are not terribly high and who may think 'brang' is fine. It's worth checking to see if it is just an oversight. A teacher who has made a genuine error won't mind - they will be genuinely horrified and apologetic.

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 22:02

What a strange situation. The school making so many errors, you thinking you can correct them in that way, and noone taking offence....

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 22:06

A genuine, good teacher with the respect of the parents in his/her class, would be very annoyed at being questioned over such a petty error. Respectful parents would surely not feel the need to question it - that is a sign of disrespect.

Runoutofideas · 20/01/2011 22:09

She has probably ticked it because he spelled the word he was trying to say correctly. She probably knows full well that the grammar is incorrect, but if the point of the exercise was to write words phonetically then if he spelt "brang" as "brang" not "brag" which many Yr1s would do, as they would not necessarily hear the "n" sound, then the word in that case needs a tick.

pozzled · 20/01/2011 22:10

"I can't comment on your particular teacher - maybe she is a nightmare and you are right to complain. But just a word of advice - every teacher I know takes their job very seriously and certainly do mind when people complain. Especially if the complaints are petty and make the teacher feel undervalued after all the incredibly hard work they put in."

I disagree as well. I would not have a problem with parents approaching me and letting me know I had made a mistake. I might be if they criticised my teaching methods but the odd spelling/grammatical error is easily made and easily corrected IMO.

Also if errors are not picked up on it causes a lot of problems later on. I once found out that my entire class had learned to spell 'suprise' instead of 'surprise' as that's how it had been presented on a spelling list the previous year. I wish one of their parents had noticed and spoken to the class teacher.

Feenie · 20/01/2011 22:12

We may have to agree to disagree here. As a teacher, I have to say that a genuine, good teacher doesn't mind having that kind of dialogue with parents. It's the shit ones who think they shouldn't be questioned - and it's a truly terrible attitude in a teacher.

And as a parent, I think an error of that magnitude should be questioned - it isn't a petty spelling error, it's a word which doesn't exist. I can see an argument for it to be ignored if the child is very young (although I wouldn't), but it definitely shouldn't be ticked. Smacks of low expectations at the very least.

pozzled · 20/01/2011 22:12

"A genuine, good teacher with the respect of the parents in his/her class, would be very annoyed at being questioned over such a petty error."

Oh well, I'm obviously not that good a teacher then perhaps I should look again at my career options.

Feenie · 20/01/2011 22:13

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 22:17

It's about respecting teachers. Correcting a teacher's marking is rude and disrespectful. Why go to the trouble of smugly correcting a mistake and discussing it with the teacher rather than simply telling the child the correct spelling yourself? As Runoutofideas said, we don't know the context in which she ticked it.

Jux · 20/01/2011 22:22

How can a word that doesn't exist be correctly or incorrectly spelt? It doesn't exist.

I think it's entirely reasonable to at the very least have a word with the teacher about it. If it's difficult to actually see the teacher, then you have to query it somehow and writing a note about it seems a bit over the top.

Maisiethemorningsidecat · 20/01/2011 22:27

I'd write a wee note beside it, saying that you know this spelling is incorrect and ask what you could do to help him. If she ignored it then I'd have a quiet word with her. I certainly wouldn't expect her to get upset or cross about an error she'd made being highlighted - it's par for the course in every other workplace!

Chocciechoc · 20/01/2011 22:27

I've never been corrected by a parent (I'm sure I've made mistakes in the past!) because we have a great relationship and they appreciate the overall work I do!

pozzled · 20/01/2011 22:28

"Why go to the trouble of smugly correcting a mistake and discussing it with the teacher rather than simply telling the child the correct spelling yourself?"

Because a lot of children go through a stage where they belive that the teacher is always right.

"As Runoutofideas said, we don't know the context in which she ticked it."

All the more reason to ask, so that as a parent you can support the teacher. If it was ticked for phonics knowledge you can tell the child that you're proud of how they sounded the word out, but give them the correct word- likely to be more effective than just saying 'the teacher was wrong to tick this'.

goingmadinthecountry · 20/01/2011 22:31

Choccie, I'm a teacher and would be mortified if I made an error like that though agree it can easily happen as a typo kind of mistake. I'd certainly apologise and take it in the spirit it was meant. If I repeatedly made simple errors like that, I'd question whether or not I was in the right job. Teachers need a good grasp of very basic English. Too many teachers have spelling and punctuation that is well below par. OK all, shoot me now.

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