Teachers that can't spell

[hafam]

all what you've said worry me. Being a non native English speaker I don't think I can always tell if the teacher is wrong in spelling or grammar. and yes it makes sense that not all teachers are good at their job, much like any other profession. Not to mention the salary for primary teachers (who are supposed to help build the foundation of English language for our kids) is the lowest of all in education. People do not always choose a profession just because they have a passion for it.

As parents what can we do? Just wait and correct our children whenever we happen to see a mistake? Or is there some way to prevent it?

[TaraSweeney]

Teachers salaries are not the issue and a teachers salary is not there just to cover the school day! Teachers put in a lot of work both seen and unseen in and out of the classroom never mind when trawling through both classwork and school planning during holiday periods.Fine there are a number of teachers that can't spell but I bet there are plenty of things they do exceptionally well- making learning fun for instance!  It's fine to moan but there a lot worse for children to contend with than the odd spelling error. We all make them!!!

[Kimba15]

Hi Tarasweeney,

No one here is denying that teacher's salary is not there just to cover the school day and no one denies that teachers don't put in alot of work in and out of school.  I also had some wonderful teachers who I remember fondly, who made school a truly wonderful place to be.

What I completely disagree with is a teacher who is plainly making spelling errors on the board and teaching this to children is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. A teacher, at least in Australia must complete 3-4year university degree before they can teach in the classroom. A university would not accept spelling errors in any essays and would have no problem in marking you down for that mistake. I think if my taxes are paying for someone who is university qualified they should be able to teach my child the correct spelling of a word and not just say to me as a parent "Oh, sorry but i'm an atrocious speller" DOES NOT MAKE IT OKAY.  

Moreover, A teacher is paid to teach our children correctly and salary whether you like it or not does reflect competancy. A teacher in Australia who is earning in excess of $60,000+ p/a and who has a university degree should know the basics in teaching the correct spelling of words, after all it is what they do for a living.

Also, teaching the incorrect spelling of words to children who are learning how to spell, who believe, that this is the correct way to spell is setting them up for future failure. It also makes the job of their future teachers twice as hard when they have to correct all the errors of the previous teacher made in teaching the child in the first place.

I am not university educated (yet) but I do work for the Australian Government and I am on a performance based wage. If I wish to get a payrise I must pass a series of 'tests' plus write about my knowledge of my department, and if you hand up your 'essay' with spelling errors in it, they will not accept it and you are told to do it again and you miss out on your payrise. I think if that is expected of me to have correct grammar and spelling to receive a measly $1000 a year payrise. I think I can expect from a teacher to teach my child the correct spelling of words! ?

[DadDude]

As parents what can we do? Just wait and correct our children whenever we happen to see a mistake? Or is there some way to prevent it?

Not that there's any good reason to take my advice, I would say... (1) home school, (2) give your children extra training in phonics (phonics training is well known for making for good spellers), or (3) give the poor kids extra spelling work in a book you buy.  (I'm sure they'll love that!)

[purplefungi]

Poor spelling is one of the reasons why I am not going to send my boys to the local public school and will home school them instead. I was on the school's website and immediately found a couple. I wasn't even looking for them. They didn't seem like typos because they simply looked like words that many people seem to misspell.

I see horrible spelling on forums also. So many people think that "a lot" is "alot" and "definintely" is "definately." Yikes. Who know's though? This is exactly how language evolves over time.

[mother of faith]

I have worked in a school system for many years and yes there are some teachers who I would never let my child in his/her class for some reason or another but we are all human and to be honest some teachers do not write their own webpage. They have assistance or student workers who may not care about the appearance of the page.
But if I was for example native to Spanish and was sending my child to an English speaking school then yes i would be concerned about those things. When I was a child that wasn't important at that time and now it is more important for my child to be taught better then I was. So I am homeschooling with assistance in the areas that i am lacking in.

[Nikita]

I've mentioned before in other threads that spelling errors are typos... if I was writing with pen and paper it would be different.  I have a comp that for some reason the cursor jumps around (I'm sure it's a hacker... note apostrophe in correct spot) and I'll be typing in the middle of what I've already typed instead of continuing from the end, so just trying to go back and relocate the misplaced part of sentences takes a while and gets very confusing. But I have been getting a habit of putting apostrophes infront of esses when I shouldnt or shouldn't. And not when I should.  And sometimes it's confusing if the apostrophe goes before or after the s. I'm referring to more than one teacher, so if there was to be an apostrophe it would be after... And it probably grammatically should have been... teachers whom can't spell.

[Nikita]

I agree on alot and definately... I reckon I stuff them up... but for the record, I dont think that apostrophe in Teacher's is mine!!! Because when I reply, it comes up correctly in the subject line. And in the blue writing above that it is also spelled (I think that's spelled, not spelt!) correctly. So I Disown responsibility for the apostrophe catastrophe. So press the reply button, and you'll see what I mean.

[Nikita]

nhockaday, did you could correct it?  Now I cant find any evidence of it at all..

[Nikita]

Ha Ha, I feel a bit better now... it WASNT (WASN'T) me!!! If you go to the absolute start of the thread, it is correct. And my first post, it is correct!! Then the next person, it changes... and then stays changed for a few posts, then reverts to correct again... and so..it must be Brillkids fault, as anyone replying would've just pressed reply, and it's already in the topic box... the replier doesn't type it in... Maybe someone's playing an april fool's joke?? And to think I thought I was losing my marbles!

[nhockaday]

It was wrong the first time I saw the thread. Believe me, I immediately noticed it. It said teacher's that cant spell all along. I don't know who changed it, but it wasn't me, and it still isn't right. It should be teachers WHO can't spell.

Anyways, it is not my business to correct other adult's grammar. I notice errors, and I make some of my own (especially when I am on here at 2AM, or I have a squirming toddler on my lap), but I am not going to embarrass people by pointing out their errors. Some people were not taught correctly, or chose not to learn the correct way. Some people do not use English as their first language.

I am blessed to have a mother who speaks very well, and I learned how to speak and write properly from her. You are your child's best teacher. Children learn language and the rules of language from you first. If you speak and write correctly, your child will likely do the same.

Teachers do need to know how to spell and be grammatically correct.  As we all know, kids sometimes pick up on things the first time they see or hear them. If a teacher has misspelled, or constantly misspells or mispronounces a word, a child will think that is the acceptable way, and it may be very hard to un-learn later.

Teachers must have at least 4 years of college in America to be a teacher. The first 2 years of college includes several English classes, in which they are constantly writing papers and brushing up on what they might not know. A teacher who has not done well in college-level English should not be able to teach.

By the time a child is writing papers in school, he/she should have an English teacher who specializes in English. These English teachers have to know what they are teaching and what they are grading. If you, the parent, think you have a good knowledge of grammar, then you need to proof-read your child's papers before they even turn them in to be graded. Explain what errors you find, and teach your child how to correctly re-write them. If you notice errors that a teacher has missed after grading, then sit down with the principal of the school and explain the situation. Ask if your child can be moved to another teacher's class. Most school administrators frown upon teachers that are not doing their job correctly, especially when they have heard the same complaint more than once.

[hafam]

Thanks DadDude

Will remember when it's time.

I do like the idea of home schooling but not sure it's possible with 2 of us working full time. Not to mention we will have to learn ourselves heaps of things before being able to teach our child. But hey life is full of balancing and compromising right? Nothing is perfect and perfection does not always mean happiness.

For the forum typing I don't think we should be stressed about being 100% correct in grammar and spelling. Like nhockaday mentioned, there could be so many reasons for typing mistakes here.

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