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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

DS new teacher called his writing "tatty" - what do you think to this, both parents and Teachers?

71 replies

hulahoopsilove · 18/09/2013 14:08

DS is and in year 4, new teacher. His is a good all roudn acedemic however his writing is a little on the untidy side.

Last teacher said that he has so much in his head, so much buzzing around that he's whizzing through the pages to get it all written down. It is one of his goals to try to write neater etc,... end of the summer term she said she didnt feel it was a huge problem as it was "secretarial" and that his content and grammer was great and that any critisum could halt all of this.

Ok so now back to school and new year new teacher. Learning a lovely topic at the moment that he is really enjoying however the teacher looked over his shoulder and said his writing was "tatty" - he's gutted.

What do I do, parents evening in a couple of weeks so I really want to bring this up - concerned as its a new teacher and dont want to get off on the wrong foot however I think this should be talked about.

How should I go about it - I would like both parents and teachers views please?

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LadyClariceCannockMonty · 18/09/2013 15:21

Not very constructive or tactful of the teacher, is it?

I think being 'gutted' is understandable but it isn't helping you find a solution.

At parents' evening you could say 'I know his handwriting could be better; what can we do between us to improve it?'

If the teacher can't come up with a constructive response to that then maybe worth taking it higher. But surely she will step up?

JustBecauseICan · 18/09/2013 15:25

Moondog, a reading scheme you recommended for progressing from phonics to real reading :-)

dd went from the bloody Oxford bloody thing to the whole series of Harry Potter between her 7th and 8th birthday.

JustBecauseICan · 18/09/2013 15:26

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/1855852-untidy-handwriting-year-3

There you go OP. Lots of tips to make his writing less tatty.

JustBecauseICan · 18/09/2013 15:27

(none of which seem to include having a pop at the teacher)

LadyClariceCannockMonty · 18/09/2013 15:30

I don't think it's having a pop at the teacher to say that her comment wasn't tactful or constructive. It wasn't.

She was right though, if the writing really was tatty. It needs improving. She just could have been more positive about it.

applebread · 18/09/2013 15:40

I would work on addressing your child's handwriting problems and then address whatever issues he has that cause him to be "gutted" by quite mild criticism.

moondog · 18/09/2013 15:45

So pleased JustBecause.
That scheme is the business.

Original poster

hulahoopsilove · 18/09/2013 15:48

phew...!

OP posts:

Floggingmolly · 18/09/2013 15:52

any criticism could halt all of this
Are you joking? You expect teachers to tiptoe round your dc because they're such sensitive little plants that they'll be crushed if anyone actually tries to teach them anything? Yabu with knobs on.

Original poster

hulahoopsilove · 18/09/2013 16:22

I think the comment knocks his confidence as he was trying hard to write neatly plus its a new teacher so I think he was trying extra hard.

I dont disagree I never said that I was probably shocked at the use of the term.

OP posts:

noblegiraffe · 18/09/2013 16:25

What's wrong with tatty? If she'd said untidy would you have been ok with it?

JustBecauseICan · 18/09/2013 16:26

How do you know he was trying hard? Because he told you?

If I decided to speak to the teacher every time dd came home a bit miffed because she's been told off for writing tatty/drawing tatty/not writing enough/rushing her work/being too slow etc etc I'd never be out of the place. And it's never true, oh no, it's always because the teacher hates her/the teacher prefers the others/her friend was putting her off/ add excuses ad infinitum.

It's a pick your battles moment, and believe me, this ain't one of them.

Retropear · 18/09/2013 16:53

Sounds like it is tatty.

Year 4 so he'll have to neaten up.

I have a left handed son with beautiful writing but it wasn't,when it was tatty I told him.

I think it's good his teacher is setting standards for the year.If she ignored it he'd think it was fine.

Retropear · 18/09/2013 16:54

Like Moondog I have ripped up cards not neat enough.

pictish · 18/09/2013 17:03

I'd hate to be a teacher, for fear of causing offence in a manner such as this.
Of course, I think yabu. My 11 yr old son's writing is very tatty. He tries very hard but writing has been inexplicably difficult for him from the outset of school. He uses a Neo now. It's a lot quicker.

I don't think 'tatty' is a term worth whining to the school about. I understand it is hard for you to see him a little wounded by its use, but he'll hear worse no doubt. It wasn't a grave insult, it was an observation.
Toughen up you pair!

ishchel · 18/09/2013 17:16

constructive criticism would be telling him how to improve his writing over time. eg. make sure you close your o's and a's. The after sorting that, maybe something like take the time to form your n's and m's.

telling a kid his work is tatty is undermining at best.

BrianTheMole · 18/09/2013 17:21

telling a kid his work is tatty is undermining at best.

yep, exactly this.

mrz · 18/09/2013 18:24

So do you think she should keep quite and let him continue to produce inferior quality work?

mrz · 18/09/2013 18:25

quiet

TheProsAndConsOfHitchhiking · 18/09/2013 18:27

What Cheryzan said.

nkf · 18/09/2013 18:32

I think tatty is quite a sweet word.

Periwinkle007 · 18/09/2013 18:35

I have to say I think tatty is quite tame - my school would probably have said 'utterly appalling' or something a bit stronger.

bruffin · 18/09/2013 18:46

At that age teachers refused to mark dds work because it was so messy. Tatty would have been tame. She is 16 today and we now get neat writing but it has taken years.

breatheslowly · 18/09/2013 19:07

If he was genuinely trying, but his writing still looked poor then he needs something more than telling him it it looks "tatty". As others have said there is nothing constructive in the comment. However she may have seen better from him and was just reminding him that he knows how to do better.

I'd want to discuss his handwriting with his teacher to identify strategies to improve it and offer support at home. Though I might research strategies first and give them a go.

I was always told at primary school that my handwriting was poor and it wouldn't be acceptable at secondary school. It was legible, but not pretty, and none of my secondary teachers ever mentioned it.

Herisson · 18/09/2013 20:29

Tatty seems like quite a mild kind of word to get upset about, tbh.

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