Ok - first I want to say that I know there are some good teachers out there.. I know it - I know I had them... they exist - it is not like Santa... and Jen... please feel free to tell me how things are now or that I'm crazy...
Today we had our parent teacher interview. The teacher was mildly late which I wasn't that worried about but then she was frantic and couldn't even respond to us in sentences - she was busy trying to find the form she'd filled out for us to review... can't find... can't find... gives up and starts writing out a new form as we are sitting there... no really comments - nothing to worry about... we ask to see some of his work and that's when my tourette's started to flinch... it was hard to contain myself... it was just trying to rip right out of me... with every ounce of me I just tried to listen and not get mad...
His letters were ok, but he had no comprehendible words... well - mostly... it was like a crazy madness kind of writing... she says kids don't need to know how to spell yet - that they should just focus on getting their ideas out... and goes on to say that she uses herself as an example with the kids. She tells them that it is ok to be messy/spelling things wrong because she is... and no kidding she is... she sent a note home and I thought Kyle had written it out and then realized it came from the teacher. I thought she'd been in a rush, nope, just a poor writer - those are her words... mine would be littered with other four letter words...
So is that what has become of the education system. I remember my teacher in grade 4 making me write out 'because' hundreds of times because I got it wrong... hundreds... does that happen any more... I make Kyle write out a word three times when he gets it incorrect when we are practicing - only to find out that at school... anything goes... really... really... WTF! What I don't understand is why wouldn't they be learning the words the right way from the start rather than the completely and totally wrong way and then have to work at getting them out of bad writing skills... why don't we just give up on the english language and just start writing out words the way they sound - let's drop phonetics and phonics and everything...
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
Ok - vented.... not over it, but vented...
4 comments:
Things started to fall to shit shortly after us... I remember my brother had "inventive spelling" stamped across the top of one of his stories in about grade 2/3 - the teacher's excuse was that she didn't want to interrupt the creative flow.
Too bad creative flow doesn't get you a job - spelling shit correctly on a resume does.
I am done my rant now.
I would be choked too. That is so unprofessional!! I can't even believe that. Definitely do what you need to do - a year is a long time to have a bad teacher. Good luck though...that has got to be a tricky situation.
I cannot comment on another teacher's instruction without leaving myself open for legal/union action. Add to that, I have no idea what to teach or how to teach the younger grades. They scare me. And they generally don't do well with a teacher who is as sarcastic as me.
After we went through the school system, there was a movement to move away from correct spelling to allow for uninterrupted thought flow. I believe (not guaranteed) that they have moved away from that, at least a little. If you ever want to know what they are required to teach according to the government, look up BC ministry of education learning outcomes (IRPs or PLOs if you can't find it). You should be able to find them. http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/lo.htm
With Quentin, who is younger and just learning how words are put together, yes, writing as he hears it is important. It's part of learning how to figure out how to spell words he doesn't know. Then, he learns the real way to spell the word. That's my impression, anyways.
I have twin sisters who were put through two different learning modules in school. One was in phonetics and one was in "whole word" learning. The one who learned phonetics is the better speller/reader.
So...I don't know. I do know that people who read have a better understanding of the world, better spelling and better vocabularies than those who do not. It's incredibly obvious by the time they reach me who reads and who does not, just by reading a single paragraph.
Given that. Teachers are people too, and are placed in situations at time that they are not necessarily experienced in. Most do the best they can.
As a side note...the 'because' situation happened with me in grade 2. I always spelled it correctly until the spelling test where we were threatened with writing it 100 times if we spelled it wrong. The smart kid next to me and I were the only ones who spelled it wrong. Everyone in the class thought it was hilarious - including us. You could tell the teacher didn't actually want to make us do it, and cut our punishment short.
The other side note is I have no idea really how people were taught when I was in school. I was reading at a grade 4 level in the corner of my class in grade 1. Grade 2 I was writing reports with the other kids who could while everyone else was learning to read.
lol, university was such a shock to me because I'd never had to work before!
Do what you do at home. It won't hurt him, and you are the parent who ultimately decides/is responsible for the education of your child. What you show is important is going to be much more lasting than a teacher - silly creatures that they are.
Thanks for all the comments.... thank you Jen for shedding light! I don't really know what to do next - I was so caught off guard by the situation that I didn't know what to do or say. We talked about moving schools last year because we weren't happy with things, and to be honest, up until meeting the teacher I really saw positive progression... he is reading and enjoying it... but seeing the writing bugs me and makes me fear that this progression is temporary... but I am going to continue working with him at home and hope for the best...
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