Oh dear, DD's KS1 teacher wrote "there" when meaning "they're"...

[JKB1]

...and this was on a class assembly slide in front of the whole school plus the parents of the class. Is there any hope? You've got to laugh, then get on with the job of picking up the slack at home.

[WowOoo]

Ooh, bad.
We had one like that last year. This year - perfect!

[pictish]

Oh get off your high horse. I know the difference between their, there and they're, but I still unconsciously guff it up occasionally and write the wrong one.
Same with to and too.
Oh - and your and you're.

It happens. But you carry on being the teacher your children never had.

[FermezLaBouche]

No, I don't think you've got to laugh! Ok, people might not be perfect spellers, but when you're producing a presentation for others, not being arsed to do a simple spell check is just so LAZY.
And I will join you on the "high horse" and say I really don't think it's a massive ask for someone teaching children to know these basic spellings.

[Shattereddreams]

Pictish I totally disagree with everything you said. Are you a teacher? If you know you get them wrong, ruddy well learn them properly.

I've said it before and will add it again, DD reception teacher wrote on her patterning worksheet
Do not scrible on your worksheet.

I lost all respect after that.

[RightUpMyRue]

DD's spellings came back with the correction 'whoose' instead of whose. It had been marked by the TA and then checked by the teacher so both of them had seen it!

I'm sure they both know that's not a word and it was just a mistake though please let it be a mistake!

[pictish]

You lost all respect after that?

Doesn't take much then!

And don't tell me to learn them properly - I HAVE! I am also a human being and not infallible. I make the odd mistake - as do you.

[dashoflime]

Agree with pictish it's a common mistake. Calm down!

[Wellthen]

'carry on picking up the slack at home'

yep, cause thats what's stopping your child getting that next crucial sublevel - homophones.

[dashoflime]

Welthen [bgrin]

[cilldara]

Well my DD's teacher told her that there were 4 versions of "There".
-there
-they're
-their and wait for it....
-DARE!

Now I know we are in Ireland and some of us are not too hot on the 'th" sound but please!

[sleeplessinsuburbia]

Yeah I think I'd realise the teacher was human and capable of mistakes and to be honest I think it's rude to make a big deal out of it.

[JKB1]

Of course everyone makes mistakes. Hope the head didn't notice. It would probably be helpful if the school sent home a few spellings now and then, but they believe the children learn to spell through being taught phonics. Maybe that's how the staff were taught.

[heggiehog]

All human beings make mistakes.

I would never confuse "there" and "they're" normally but I don't have time to type everything half the time, let alone proof-read it all. Sorry.

A teacher making a mistake does NOT always mean that they don't know how to spell it correctly.

[Wellthen]

they believe the children learn to spell through being taught phonics

partly, but the idiosyncrasies of the English language mean rote learning must play a part.

Oh and 'they believe' this based on research, experience and the desire to do the best for our children. (See: The Rose Report 2006). Your tone suggests you do not agree....I'm assuming you have also done years of research.

[HumphreyCobbler]

you do know that using phonics to spell is not the same as spelling phonetically, don't you?

confusing there and they're is a bad mistake to make. I am normally the first on these threads arguing that everyone makes typos but this is a really embarrassing mistake. Especially in an assembly.

[Niceweather]

Would have thought it was a problem till I had a DS with dyslexia. Would now be wondering if teacher had dyslexia and if so, would imagine that they had a wonderful understanding of how and other SENs can affect children. Would also be very impressed that they probably had to work extra hard to overcome it and that they therefore might be really dedicated to have chosen such a profession. And that they might be a really creative and divergent thinking individual. I was really chuffed when I found out my son's Head was dyslexic (I had noticed a couple of tiny oddities in her writing).

[Niceweather]

Whoops! Lots of mistakes in my post! Cringe!

[talkingnonsense]

I never muddled there, their and they're until after years of teaching 7 year olds, looking at it wrong all the time just confuses the brain! You star to doubt yourself! Also, maybe the kids did the PowerPoint?

[morethanpotatoprints]

I don't think there is any excuse and at dds last school it was terrible. The worst was a huge crate of dressing up with a label Roll Play.

I wanted to be a Primary teacher but am severeley dyslexic. I didn't think that my English was good enough and expected better for my dc, so wouldn't subject others dc to my bad English.

I really shouldn't have bothered when I see such poor standards in many schools. wouldn't of is regularly noted.

[Hulababy]

Everyone makes mistakes. If it is a one off don;t worry about it - assume teacher did the work whilst really busy or late at night and didn't think as well as they could at the time/ We've all done it some time or other I bet. When teacher realises she/he will probably feel so embarrassed!

If a regular thing - point it out. Not red pen ad all that passive aggressive stuff - just be polite and choose your timing.


Oh - and spelling tests have no academic value. They don't teach children to spell properly They teach children to remember spellings short term for a test. However most evidence shows that when it then comes to independent writing children don't actually apply the spellings they learn for a test into their work.

Phonics does teach spelling. Phonics is as much about spelling as it is about reading. Phonics is supposed to be used as a spelling programme.

[wewereherefirst]

Phonics only works so far- my son spells although as althow and sometimes as sumtimes.

I do get a little twitchy when my son brings literacy work peppered with errors,after the third printed sheet I got the green pen out and corrected the mistakes. Especially as my son believes teachers do everything right.

[Hulababy]

Once they learn more sounds in phonics they learn the right spellings. It comes with practise. But that is day in day out practise not learning spellings by rote for a one off test. They learn which "phonics code" to use as the phonics programme goes in. By end of Y2 many will be known, sometimes before this. As phonics should continue into juniors - it often doesn't, but it should. And then phonics would help massively.

My DD has a lot of dyslexic type issues. Phonics has been the way forward and has made a massive difference.

[bamboostalks]

cilldara sorry don't believe that at all. That's a well known Irish joke. Please don't further denigrate teachers by making up rubbish.