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Primary education

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Original poster

WWYD- teacher makes spelling mistake

27 replies

Evelight · 04/01/2015 17:53

The photo is self-explanatory. But in case my uploading skills aren't up for it, it shows a snap of dd's book report, where the teacher has crossed out her word "ungrateful" and corrected it to "ungreatful".

Should we make a stink about this? Should we let it slide as it might not work to the long-term advantage of my daughter? She got 18/20 for the book report, however she does have a couple of other (legit) spelling mistakes, and she says even if that were corrected, her mark wouldn't change. I don't want her obsessing over marks more than she already is, and I don't want her to lose respect for her teacher- although I did point out her spelling was correct.

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Thatssofunny · 04/01/2015 18:12

I have a degree in English linguistics and I teach Year 6. My spelling is usually very good and I try my hardest to mark properly all the way through. However, even I have to ask DH to spell some words for me sometimes. After marking 27 children's books, my spelling goes downhill...dramatically. You start doubting yourself and your sanity. Consequently, I do sometimes make mistakes. If I'm lucky, I spot them myself before the book goes out again.
You have nothing to gain in terms of marks from making a big fuss about it. I wouldn't mind any of my class pointing something like this out to me, but I'd be a bit if any of the parents came to see me about it.

Original poster

Evelight · 04/01/2015 18:15

Actually, my own suggestion to my daughter was that SHE should point it out to her teacher, but she shied away from it. I agree- I wouldn't want to got to school myself and make a fuss about something like this.

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Expedititition · 04/01/2015 18:18

Are you sure it's not peer marked?

meandjulio · 04/01/2015 18:18

What does the red tick mean - did the teacher realise afterwards that the original spelling was correct?

I think you have done right by confirming that the original spelling was correct, and you could even have a small discussion about mistakes - that everyone makes them and it doesn't make her teacher less of an important person but it just shows that she should always check things herself as well.

Original poster

Evelight · 04/01/2015 18:20

@Expeditition- yes sure- they never do peer-marked, plus I know the teacher's handwriting.(he's been her teacher for two years now- he always signs off in their agenda with little notes).

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Original poster

Evelight · 04/01/2015 18:22

@meanjulio - there are red ticks scattered randomly across the pages- I think it's more of general mark of "check". I think if it was meant to correct the mis-correction, he would have just scribbled over it.

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notsogoldenoldie · 04/01/2015 18:23

It looks to me that the teacher put a black ring around the word, then realised her mistake and corrected herself with a red tick.

notsogoldenoldie · 04/01/2015 18:29

...sorry didn't realise it was a man. If it's part of a pattern, I'd be concerned, but if you believe it to be a one - off, I'd let it go.

Having said that, I'd be worried about teachers making elementary spelling errors.

Original poster

Evelight · 04/01/2015 18:34

I think you're right- this is strike one. However, my daughter told her friends, so now most of the class know Mr. x can't spell...

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Thatssofunny · 04/01/2015 18:45

I think you're right- this is strike one. However, my daughter told her friends, so now most of the class know Mr. x can't spell...

Do the adults around your dd and her friends never make mistakes?

My class know I can't draw, for example. I just can't. (Some of them insist that I'm not actually that bad...) It's been a source of great amusement for them at times. They don't have a problem with it and they don't see me as a bad teacher because of it, though.
To be honest, I'd be concerned, if any of the children in my class considered a simple mistake to be such an issue that it needs to be tattled about. How do they deal with making mistakes themselves? How do they react to their friends getting things wrong?

mrz · 04/01/2015 19:00

If a teacher is marking with big red ticks in coloured pencil that would worry me ... it certainly has the appearance of a child's handwriting very odd.

Original poster

Evelight · 04/01/2015 19:04

What do you think the kids talk about most of the time? There's a lot of chatter about teachers going on- how this one has "crazy eyes" and that one is a "robot" - all of their quirks and mannerisms is gossip fodder for the kids, and I can recall it was like that for me too. Now I work at a uni -where I used to be a student, and I know the TAs gossip about students, and students gossip about profs. The staff are awful- they gossip both about students and faculty.

My daughter and her friends obsess about grades- I don't like it, but I guess I prefer it to not caring- plus the school system seems to demand it. In this particular case, she told her friends not to tattle, but to show she deserved a higher mark and Mr. X. made a mistake in his grading.

How do we react to mistakes? We point it out- if its funny, we laugh, if not we move on. I chose to bring this one up, because I wasn't quite sure how to react to it. It's not funny for adults, but it is minor. To children, teachers making spelling mistakes is quite interesting - surely you can see why?

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BMO · 04/01/2015 19:08

Are you sure a child didn't correct it? It looks like a child's handwriting.

Either get your DD to clarify it with the teacher, mention it to him yourself privately or forget about it. Don't make a song and dance about it.

LeBearPolar · 04/01/2015 19:09

That's not a mistake that's been made there though, is it? It's the teacher - who is supposed to be teaching the children how to spell - not knowing how to spell a very basic word. I would be pretty pissed off with that actually, and would probably raise it at parents' evening.

insanityscratching · 04/01/2015 19:25

Dd was known as the spelling and grammar police in primary as she could spot an errant comma at a hundred yards. Her teachers always took it in good humour and the clever ones declared that any mistakes were deliberate so as to check that she was still on the job. I would either get dd to raise it or forget about it.

Elisheva · 05/01/2015 10:46

DS teacher marked a grammar homework as incorrect when it was correct. I raised it with the teacher but wish I hadn't. He disagreed with me then tried to explain the grammar rule to me, and he was wrong! I didn't quite know what to do so I left it.
However, there have been 3 errors on homework sheets which I have corrected.
They probably hate me

Mashabell · 05/01/2015 12:14

After marking 27 children's books, my spelling goes downhill...dramatically. You start doubting yourself and your sanity.

I used to find that too. With English spelling being so random and all the misspellings of pupils, it's easy to slip up.

Unless the teacher regularly makes mistakes, i would let it pass.

HippoPottyMouth · 05/01/2015 12:20

But it's not that the teacher has simply made a spelling mistake when writing, he has actually marked the DDs spelling as incorrect when it isn't, so I do think that should be pointed out, by the DD not the mum.
If she doesn't want to then fair enough I suppose, but this would really annoy me!

Nearasdammit · 05/01/2015 12:27

I'd kick up a stink. Kids are supposed to be learning the CORRECT thing and teachers are supposed to be able to teach it.

What's the point otherwise??

MrsCosmopilite · 05/01/2015 12:43

I would raise it with the teacher. Not by telephone, but in person - maybe a quick word at the end of school?

I am known to be pedantic about correct spelling and grammar.

I appreciate that everyone makes mistakes, but marking something as wrong when it is correct needs to be highlighted.

Hakluyt · 05/01/2015 12:47

Are you sure it wasn't peer marked?

manchestermummy · 05/01/2015 13:52

I'd definitely get your DD to point this out, politely though, rather than making a huge fuss. She could ask something like "I'm really not sure why it's wrong, please can you help?".

My friend had something similar and thought she was going mad. She has a degree in English and felt she had no choice but to ask for clarification as to why the teacher had marked something wrong that really wasn't.

If your DD doesn't get anywhere, then I would speak to the teacher myself. Again, politely.

RiverTam · 05/01/2015 14:02

I'm be really unimpressed, in fact I'm utterly shocked that he could have, for a second, thought that it was spelt wrong. There's nothing pedantic about spelling - it's right or it's wrong. And that couldn't be more wrong! I'd have a polite word.

Original poster

Evelight · 05/01/2015 14:08

Hello everyone- thanks for all the helpful feedback. For those who are asking if it was peer-marked or a kid's handwriting, I'm pretty much sure it wasn't as I know the teacher's handwriting, he's been her teacher for two years, and he frequently leaves little handwritten notes in the kids' agenda when he signs off on it. And they never said it was supposed to be peer-marked.

I had asked her to bring it up with the teacher. Here is her response, more or less verbatim: "I was going to, but there was a huge line-up in front of his desk with all the other children waving their papers. Plus I would have looked like a brat. It's not gonna change my mark anyway"

So at this point, I'm just going to let it go.

OP posts:

mrz · 05/01/2015 15:26

If that's a teacher's marking you have more to worry about than his spelling!

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