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Speaking of grammatical errors, I Know I have made my share and that my spelling isn't always perfect but maybe it's because of the way I was taught. My mother-in-law was a grade school teacher mostly teaching 1st - 3rd grades and her spelling and grammar is atrocious. Her spelling more so than grammar. The first time I read a letter that she wrote to my husband I was astounded. I was totally floored that she had been a teacher and all I could think about was all of the kids she taught who probably struggled in higher grades because of errors she had made or overlooked because she thought they were correct.
Maybe that is why so many people make such terrible errors in grammar and spelling because of the vast amount of teachers making errors. If proper grammar and correct spelling were taught right from the get go and continued all through school there would be fewer people making errors.
I think that it should be pointed out to whomever will listen and do something about it as far as the teacher making grammatical errors, especially when she is docking points from a kid who is making the same errors. She is setting a poor example and it's obvious that she is impacting more than one child as the teacher said that there were several other kids who are making the same errors. With younger kids they have a hard time grasping the do as I say not as I do concept. I'm sure that it must be confusing to your daughter and any other child as to why they are getting docked when they are using the same grammar the teacher is using.
LOL yes. But, remember, we are not teaching grammar! This teacher pointed out the dd's grammatical errors, then proceeded to make the same ones herself.
I hold her to higher standards in the school setting. Nobody is perfect, but what slides here cannot be allowed to slide at school.
This was a great post. Teachers are going to make mistakes--who doesn't? They are even going to have little idiosyncrasies that are wrong. What makes the OP case different is that the teacher's incorrect grammar is the exact complaint she is making against the daughter and several other students. The teacher is trying to correct the students in one breath, while in the next breath she is using the incorrect usage herself. I would be very confused if I was in her class!
I would talk to the principal. Tell him/her that you don't expect teachers to be correct 100% of the time, but then explain the situation. I wouldn't let it slide because it is an extremely bad habit that the students could keep for life. Good luck!
I'd go through the roof. They hold the kids to standards, literally (standardized tests) and have teachers who aren't capable of teaching?
My daughter had a French I teacher last year who made so many mistakes that the kids were correcting her every day in class. She's still teaching French I, but I took my daughter out of that class and had her put with a different teacher when I found out how inept she (the teacher) was.
There is NO EXCUSE for a teacher, ESPECIALLY one of young children, to not know english. Yep, I'd make some noise at that school.
I would talk to the principal. I wish I had spoken up when my DSD was in 2nd grade. She had a weak teacher who constantly told us that she was doing fine when I'd ask (at least once a week). The week school was to let out, we were informed she failed a critical math test and had to do a retest the day before the last day of school. The teacher then admitted that DSD has been struggling for awhile. Now DSD is in 4th grade and may be held back because she never learned the building blocks of math. DH & I did not go to the principal because it was the last week of school and there were some other personal issues at play, so we just let it go.
If you're in Chapel Hill / Carrboro, they advertise the school system as the best in the state.... and have the numbers to back it up. You pay a premium in taxes.... your children have the right to a proper education.
I agree, you do need to bring this up with the principal but in a non threatening manner. I think once she/he is aware of it, it's up to them to correct it. If they don't, then you can raise a ruckus!
Where we live, nepotism is rampant. Our school administrators hire relatives instead of qualified people to work in our schools. As a result, our kids are taught by people who can't spell, talk about movie stars instead of school work and have the worst accent, which they pass on to my kids. They say things like "slippy" instead of "slippery" for example. Drives me crazy. As a result, I spend a lot of time at home correcting my kids accents and language so they will be able to get a job, somewhere other than here, I hope!
You can explain to your child that the teacher uses improper English. Teachers are only human and no human is perfect. You can explain that sometimes when someone grows up in a different place or environment, they learn different habits that aren't always good habits.
I remember reading an interview with the actress Marissa Tomei - her mother forbid her to speak with the accent all her friends and the people where she grew up used. She felt it sounded unintelligent. Her mother insisted on her speaking proper English. Of course she learned how to speak like everyone else around her, but thanks to her mother stepping in she also learned how to speak correctly, too. We can do the same for our children when situations like this come up.
I agree mentioning something to the principal would be a good idea, too, if you are willing to. Me, personally, I probably wouldn't because I see this as a minor issue. This is something you can solve at home by talking with and working with your child.
All of these stories of teachers with bad grammar are proof that colleges need to make their elementary education programs a lot more challenging. Elementary Ed majors I knew in college would jokingly refer to themselves as "cut and paste majors." I know of many C students in high school who received elementary education degrees. And the the people with those degrees who are the most politically connected are the people who get the teaching jobs.
My 7th grade English teacher spoke in partial Ebonics. Spelling tests were a NIGHTMARE because she would randomly pluralize words, and if we asked her to use them in a sentence, they still wouldn't make any sense.
In the end, it actually helped me because I studied quite a bit more to make sure had the material down pat. I couldn't trust my teacher to teach it correctly, so I taught myself.
You can explain to your child that the teacher uses improper English. Teachers are only human and no human is perfect. You can explain that sometimes when someone grows up in a different place or environment, they learn different habits that aren't always good habits.
... but thanks to her mother stepping in she also learned how to speak correctly, too. We can do the same for our children when situations like this come up.
I agree mentioning something to the principal would be a good idea, too, if you are willing to. Me, personally, I probably wouldn't because I see this as a minor issue. This is something you can solve at home by talking with and working with your child.
A MINOR issue? Wrong.
No parent should have to make excuses to their 2nd grade child for their school teacher. First, the 2nd grader wouldn't understand the use of going to school if they can't have trust in the teacher to teach them properly.
What you're saying is, we send our kids to school because they provide free babysitting services, and when they get home at night, WE do the teaching? I don't think so.
There is NO EXCUSE for a bad teacher. If they aren't teaching properly, they shouldn't be teachers.
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