Teacher concerns?

[Hoppinggreen]

Without any previous concerns about the school in general or the teacher would you be worried if you heard your sons experienced, mature teacher say the following (within the same 10 minutes) to her Y6 class?
They speak Spanish in Brazil
Hitler wanted to reunite Germany because it was divided by the Berlin Wall

Are you hearing this second hand via your son?

What was the lesson about to have those two comments within 10 minutes

Some regions in Brazil speak Spanish though Portuguese is the national and official language since Pourtugal rule. Such regions can be found in Southeast or North (States of Rio Grande do Sul , Amazonas ). Portuñol is the combination of 2 languages.

I was in the classroom, it definitely happened
I was asked to go in to do a show and tell and without too much detail it was loosely around WW2

soontobe it was that they speak German in Austria like they speak Spanish in Spain as well as Argentina and Brazil

The language example isn't so major. The re-writing of History also not major but clearly wrong. Why did they say Hitler was reuniting Germany due to the Berlin Wall? I'd mention it - either a chat with the teacher to see why or speak to the Head.

(I'm a History Teacher so would not have been able to stop myself correcting the teacher there and then)

I’m just someone of average intelligence and I might have said something at the end of the lesson. Very odd that ww2 and the Berlin Wall we’re confused like that. Is the history curriculum written down for y6? What was she supposed to be teaching?

I would be worried.

I wouldn’t be very worried unless such mistakes were frequent. Everybody has some misconceptions, even teachers.

I think my concern is that it was the first time I have spent any time in that classroom with that teacher and within the 30 minutes of me being there she said 2 things that were so factually incorrect.
If it was just a one off then I have no further concerns but as part of a pattern it would be very worrying

Not much you can do about it, though. It’s not part of the Teaching Standards that you can never make a factual error.

The language thing not so concerning...it sounds like she made comparison off the top of head which turned out be wrong. Happens to the best of us. In regards to the Berlin Wall...it isn't great that she taught something so significant as wrong and I would be concerned as a parent if I witnessed that. I always plan lessons extra carefully when I know someone will be observing me so I would wonder what she would be like teaching when no other adults are around.

Technically speaking there are around half a million Spanish speakers in Brazil so not a huge concern but the Berlin Wall would worry me and I'd have said something.

The last time the Teacher studied and History may have been when they were in Y9 themselves. If they've then never been in year groups that cover WW2, they would have had no reason to swat up on it.

Is the class now doing a whole unit on WW2, or was it just a History week or something? If it's a unit I might quietly mention it, but hopefully they will be doing some reading up as they go along anyway.

Now Ofsted have decided foundation subjects are in, everybody will be leaving making efforts to ensure their subject knowledge is spot on for the topics they teach. It is probably already on the school's radar.

The berlin wall would bother me. Thats not just a tiny misunderstanding. If the teacher wasnt raised in the west then maybe its less clear - i dont know what they are taught in Korea for instance - but things like the cold war, berlin wall coming down etc were happening during her lifetime if she is mature. Didnt she evervwonder how hitler didnt manage to knock the wall down?

Grasspigeons

“Mature” - I’m mature and in my mid-thirties. I don’t remember the wall coming down. The only reason I know is that I studied History and am a big reader, neither of which is a requirement to be a teacher. If the teacher studied something like Spanish or PE, with A Levels in Business/Physical Education/Languages, there really is no sound reason they would have to know about the Berlin Wall. People expect a lot of teachers these days, and for them to have good general knowledge about these things might be desirable, but it’s not part of the required qualifications for the job.

I agree mature is a relative term. I was imaging over 40. Its not a case of believing teachers should know everything or studied history- its just the sort of thing that was on newsround, then all the 'big events of the 20th century' programmes at the millenium. For much of my life time it has been current affairs.
Just different life experiences. - beginning to feel very old!

As far as the wrong info in WW2, there's no excuse! As a teacher, if I were teaching a topic I knew very little about, I'd research what I always teaching first. So facts around WW2 would also include when and why the Berlin Wall was built!
If this teacher had been being observed by Ofsted, this misinformation would have rung alarm bells. Whilst it's not reason enough to discipline a teacher, it would be enough to have a word with them about it.

I can imagine in a few years’ time (10?) some poor teacher in a classroom will be standing there saying Saddam bombed the Twin Towers or Donald Trump followed George W Bush as President, and older people will be tutting away. The reality is that primary teaching is really about literacy and numeracy, being able to build a rapport with young people and model good behaviour. We can’t have everything!

Soontobe60

Except that construction of the Wall commenced in 1961 and WW2 ended in 1945. It’s not really core knowledge for the topic from a primary perspective.

A teacher can't possibly know everything about every subject but if you're teaching a topic you need to do your research when at the planning stage to ensure you don't misinform children.

Of course children can come up with questions you've not thought about so be honest and tell them you don't know and use it as a learning opportunity for everyone.

I hope they are not the History Lead.

The Brazilian thing is a small factual mistake, teachers can't know everything.

The German thing is a gross mistake. To make that mistake would involve a deep confusion of a couple of decades of very recent and very well known history.

Has your DS come back with other corkers like that from school? Is it possible the teacher was very nervous because parents were in attendance? Maybe as soon as she said it she thought "WTF have I said?".

It's extremely unprofessional.
Of course teachers arent expected to know everything. But lesson prep and research is the very least that a teacher should be doing. Get your basic facts right. It's worth mentioning to the head teacher