Ouch Report

tastybasslines · #1 01-20-2013, 10:13 PM

I have had my daughter enrolled in this preschool/pre K for almost 9 months now, and she loves it. Always says what fun she had at school. It's $156 a week for 4 days, pretty reasonable for around here.

Recently, her regular teacher, who was great, left and was replaced with a new teacher in mid December. Recently, we got this note from the new teacher when she came home from school:

Prior to that, we saw this on her homework (the shoe):

Wifey says it's not that big a deal, that she gets alot of love there and she has a good environment. All true. This still bugs me alot thought, even though they are not teaching her rocket science.

line6man · #2 01-20-2013, 10:28 PM

Maybe she's an idiot, or perhaps English is not her native language, or she might even be a wonderful teacher who just happens to have poor spelling skills. Whatever the reason, IMO, the "snicker" picture is unacceptable. All questions of professionalism aside, it teaches false information to young children. It may not be as serious as calling a cow a book, or calling red blue, but nonetheless, your daughter deserves a proper education.

**colcifer** · #3 01-20-2013, 10:41 PM

Also of concern is that the ouch reports says that the scrape wasn't washed. Scrapes should be washed.

Ziltoid · #4 01-20-2013, 10:53 PM

Ouch.

FretlessMainly · #5 01-20-2013, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by line6man

...she might even be a wonderful teacher who just happens to have poor spelling skills.

In what universe is this acceptable?

"She was walking on she triped over her show and fell."

You're actually paying for this?

two fingers · #6 01-20-2013, 11:08 PM

How old is she? (The daughter, not the idiot teacher) If the kid is a year old, it's no big deal as long as she gets better teachers down the line. If your kid is 4 that's a completely different story and I would be raising hell. That is ridiculous and unacceptable to be teaching kids and not have a firm grip on the spelling of basic words. I have a 3 year old who already knows her letters and some spelling. If her teacher were that stupid, I would be at the school complaining. If nothing else, at LEAST show the ouch report to whomever is in charge and see if THEY notice the problem. If the person RUNNING the joint doesn't pick up on it, run like hell and never take your kid back there. I don't know about your area, but where I live, to be in charge of the classroom at the preschool level, one must obtain an associates (two-year) degree in early childhood development (or something like that). And what's really sad is that many of them get through a two-year degree and still don't have a firm grip on English. Oy.

Your concerns are well-founded.

bassteban · #7 01-20-2013, 11:09 PM

That would bug me a lot.

TolerancEJ · #8 01-20-2013, 11:20 PM

Actually the spelling errors would drive me nuts.

tastybasslines · #9 01-20-2013, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by two fingers

How old is she? (The daughter, not the idiot teacher) If the kid is a year old, it's no big deal as long as she gets better teachers down the line. If your kid is 4 that's a completely different story and I would be raising hell. That is ridiculous and unacceptable to be teaching kids and not have a firm grip on the spelling of basic words. I have a 3 year old who already knows her letters and some spelling. If her teacher were that stupid, I would be at the school complaining. If nothing else, at LEAST show the ouch report to whomever is in charge and see if THEY notice the problem. If the person RUNNING the joint doesn't pick up on it, run like hell and never take your kid back there. I don't know about your area, but where I live, to be in charge of the classroom at the preschool level, one must obtain an associates (two-year) degree in early childhood development (or something like that). And what's really sad is that many of them get through a two-year degree and still don't have a firm grip on English. Oy.

Your concerns are well-founded.

Thanks for the well thought out response.

My daughter is 3 yrs and 3 months old. She knows how to write and spell her name, many numbers and letters, and is very sharp. I agree about the teacher - she should have at least a basic command of the English language. I've been thinking a lot about this over the last few weeks. When I was a kid, I spoke a second language fluently by age 5. I don't want to assume that my daughter isn't picking up on these things.

I'm going to have a chat with the person in charge tomorrow.

line6man · #10 01-20-2013, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

In what universe is this acceptable?

For the record, I don't consider spelling to be an essential skill for all educators. Depending on what you are being taught, you might overlook spelling errors that can still be understood clearly, if you are being taught a different subject by a highly knowledgeable person. With that being said, however, the more basic the education, and the less intellectually-developed the students, the harder it becomes to forgive poor spelling. I expect absolutely ANY English-speaking teacher to be able to fill out that "Ouch Report," and be able to print off pages with a handful of preschooler-friendly words without misspelling them. These two pictures are a serious red flag, in my book.

pocketgroove · #11 01-20-2013, 11:32 PM

Well, I can see why it's a tough call to make. The spelling and grammar issues are hard to get around, though, and sort of a big deal. Kids that age absorb information very readily, and at some point it becomes a concern that they will absorb incorrect information and have to unlearn some of what they've been taught.

A-Step-Towards · #12 01-20-2013, 11:39 PM

Wow, I kept reading it over and over.

Tituscrow · #13 01-21-2013, 02:04 AM

Whilst initially finding this hilarious - the note, not the injury! - on reflection, I wouldn't be too happy, but then again I wouldn't overreact.

Is the adult in charge of your child an actual teacher/educator, or just a cheap hired hand to keep the staff/student ratio down and help with basic child minding?

Indiana Mike · #14 01-21-2013, 04:16 AM

Wow wow wow

She has a secondary education , that's proof its more the person than the time spent in school.

Have you met this teacher? Maybe English is her second language.

Goodnight . That's scary

**mjac28** · #15 01-21-2013, 04:37 AM

I would get together with other parents and see if they are having similar problems the more parents involved the quicker the problem gets solved if they give you a hard time let them know the local news stations would love to run a story on the great education your child is getting because school levies are always hot buttons in most communities.

4dog · #16 01-21-2013, 04:39 AM

This is bad, i mean really, we all cringe a bit when we see the smallest of typos here, difference is we arent "teaching" each other how to spell.
She is in her best learning years, just seeing sneaker spelled snicker is going to put a lot of work on you to repair,but,just because you have matriculated out of university, does not mean you are edjamacated.

Indiana Mike · #17 01-21-2013, 05:13 AM

I went to a private school . It was Catholic school. If you were a church member in the Diocese you gained admission as well as a reduced tuition. Non-members had to apply and pay much more .

The one thing that was true is the fact that the public sector attracted the better teachers because of higher salaries and bennies.

hover · #18 01-21-2013, 05:56 AM

Wow. Double whammy. I *guess* it's not a big deal in the grand scheme, but it would be to me.
Kids are sponges at the early years, and this misinformation *could* prove dire in their learning.
Oh, and "snicker" is what i do when I think about how ridiculous that is...

fourstringdrums · #19 01-21-2013, 06:34 AM

I'm sorry but if you're a teacher in this country and you're teaching kids who have English as the primary language, you need to know how to speak/spell English. "Maybe English is a second language" is not an excuse. It's not even like we're talking about difficult words here. If you can't spell basic words, you have no business being a teacher. She may have and hopefully will have better teachers down the line, but there is still no excuse for a teacher at that level not having the basic skills that kids that age are just starting to learn.

Angus · #20 01-21-2013, 06:42 AM

Remember, the teacher didn't go into preschool/pre-K because she wanted to find work after completing her PhD in Modern English Literature.

Let it go. It would drive me nuts, too, but all things told it won't scar your child.

First grade? Big problem.
Third grade? Storm the school.
Pre-K? It won't affect the finger painting. (So long as she doesn't have to spell out "fingur painting" on the whiteboard.)