Spellings in school work...should teachers correct or not?

[rabbit68]

DS1 is in yr 4. His school work is pretty good and he is starting to use some ambitious words which is great and all to be encouraged, BUT why can't the teachers correct spelling errors in all school work?
Through just not taking enough care he is making smelling pistakes in his literacy, numeracy and science workbooks and there is no attempt to get this put straight.
When I asked him about this he even said " well if they don't tell me what's wrong, how can I learn to spell it properly!" From the mouths of babes.
At parent's evening, we raised this for the second time and are fobbed off with excuses about the number of children in the class, the very mixed range of abilities and "it's OK because he can spell his target words" ...are they missing the point or are we slipping into pushy parenting (we've done well to put it off this long.)
One teacher even said, "if I had to correct everyone's spelings I'd never get to bed at night"
Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
And if I have spelled anything wong on here, please forgive...it's been a long day.

It would be useful to get some other opinions on this please...

We only mark according to the learning objective for each piece of work. Therefore, unless correct spelling is listed as the learning objective, it doesn't get corrected. In any case, the best way for a child to learn to spell is to write the correct spelling three or more times, not just to look at the teacher's correction. When do you propose they do this? For many, it would take up to 15 minutes to correct a set of spellings and if you multiply that over several lessons per day, it soon becomes unworkable. Maybe they should take it home and so it for homework and then their parents can start another thread on here complaining about the unreasonable levels of work their children bring home!

my ds1 has spelling homework that doesnt get marked

I am a little about it

...so when does work start getting marked on an all round basis rather than concentrating on a learning objective? Good spelling should be an integral part of any piece of work IMHO.
(isn't the terminology getting fun? VCOP, ATs and LIs..I am learning more than the children this week )...
So is the correct spelling supposed to develop on its own?
Just to pour fuel on this little fire, maybe the spelling corrections should be part of homework (KS2+) - for some children...DS1 would love the challenge ( which we are now giving him at home) but I do understand that it's not for everyone...isn't that the point of learning plans for individual children...

I might change my nickname to Victorian Mum..." they didn't do it like this when I was at school..."

Also, for some chn having their spellings corrected can have a negative effect on their vocab. They begin to play safe and use only words which they know they can spell, or spend half the lesson with their hand up waiting for a spelling instead of writing fluently. Children don't like making spelling mistakes, so if they know they will be picked up on it they will try to avoid it.

Cornsilk makes good point and one I have heard other teachers make. Some children will end up with a very limited boring vocabulary and be afraid of taking risks by expanding.

Wasn't done in this way when I were a nipper- but then we didn't start school a few days after our 4th birthdays either.

And indeed, if spelling was that good in them olden days, how come I know so many academics in their 40s (some of them from expensive private schools with academic reputations) whose spelling is totally unreliable?

Enjoy your half term folks!! I think we all deserve a week off, no matter which side of the spelling fence we find ourselves on!
(It's taken me five attempts to get that last sentence to scan properly!!)

ha ha ha I like that...spelling!!!...the little witch smiley..................