. . .irregardless

[declansdad]

I expect a professional in a professional setting to act appropriately. I am disturbed by the teacher's ignorance. Math teacher or not, she or he should have some rudimentary knowledge to get even an undergraduate degree.

Obviously the teacher can teach, she is working at a top-rated high school. Seems to be that she must have more than some rudimentary knowledge.

 

[DisneyDotty]

Improper grammar drives me nuts. However, I tell my daughter, who is in public school and the accelerated program, it is not your place to correct the teacher unless s/he asks you to.

Amen. Agree 100%. (Not 1000%--we're being mathematically correct here!) Thank you.
English major and former high school English teacher talking here:
"Irregardless," while not proper English, is a word many people use incorrectly. The math teacher was wrong to assert that it was a word she should be using in the classroom. However, it's probably just as wrong to interrupt class discussion to correct the teacher. And it's certainly wrong to send an anonymous e-mail. (BTW--most school administrators do not respond to anonymous e-mails or complaints. If change is to come about, one must be willing to identify him/herself.)
But you know what makes me happy about all this? We've got some good discussion going on about grammar/word usage! How often does that happen on the Dis?

 

[mickman1962]

I'd wait for a real issue before I bothered to e-mail a teacher.

Agreed, and if I was so sure of myself, I would send an e-mail with my name on it. Sounds pretty petty and cowardly to me.

 

[Mom21]

Well I COULD care less...............

Some days I just crack myself up!!

 

[mickeymousemom]

I teach humanties at a university. My students have been known to groan and carry on when I tell them that their academic papers must be in correct standard English. Asking another professional (math teacher or not) to do the same in an academic setting isn't asking too much. I tell my students that I'm SURE (and I am) that they are intelligent people but when they use substandard English they appear stupid. And, sadly, so did this math teacher.

However, the students vocally and aggressively calling her on it in the middle of class was inappropriate and put her on the defensive.

Not sure that I agree that the students were "aggressive". I agree with everything you said except your last statement. I feel the teacher was a bit juvenile in her handling of the situation(if the OP's DD was correct in her story). It's okay to make a mistake. The teacher needed to admit to it and even joke about it(maybe saying, "Hey, I'm a MATH teacher here, cut me some slack.") then laugh and go on. I fully believe the teacher KNEW what the students meant when they said that "irregardless" isn't a word. To act as she did was ridiculous.
Yes, this is trivial and even the OP admitted that, but I'm darn sensitive to the fact that too many teachers out there just don't "make mistakes"...they ARE teachers for God's sakes . I mean no disrespect to those teachers who DON'T have this attitude, but in my school district I've seen it too many times. God forbid a student is RIGHT and they are WRONG

 

[ChrizJen]

I just have to pipe in and say that I agree 100% with the OP. I would have done the very same thing!

It may have been a little on the disrespectful side for the students to point it out to the teacher. Perhaps they could have just let it go knowing that the the teacher may have been using the word incorrectly. But given that they DID point it out, it seems to me that the teacher's response was a bit childish. There was no need for her to "rub the students' faces" in her "victory" the way she did.

I also have to say that although English was not my major in college, it SHOULD have been! I've often been told that I should have been either an English teacher or a speech pathologist! There are SO MANY things about the way people use and abuse the language that I occasionally have to grit my teeth and bite my tongue! Correct word usage and correct pronunciation are two things I take seriously! LOL

And I'll just add one of my favorites:
Our president (along with MANY others) drive me NUTS when they say the word "nuclear".
It's not pronounced nu-cu-lar!

OK, that's it for my rant.
-Christal

 

[disneymom3]

This is a good question. I emailed anonymously because I realize it might be considered trivial and I don't want her to harbor any negative feelings about this. But, yes, I think she should correct herself in the class for the reasons I said in a previous post.

I think some of the students will now believe it's a proper word when it is not.

I really do think it's kind of trivial, too. But, it bothers me since it's such a high-rated high school. I want the teachers to teach correctly. That's what I expect and that is why I sent my daughter there.

I would say that emailing was a bit extreme. Now, my niece had a highschool history teacher that told the class that Minneapolis AND St Paul were the capital of MN together. His claim was that that is why they are called the Twin Cities. DN tried to tell him that that was not the case. She had lived in MN for 3 years and knew that only St Paul was the capital. He told her that if she put that on her exam, he would mark it wrong. Now THAT is a problem.

 

[Disneyrsh]

.

 

[Lanshark]

This is why fewer and fewer people are going into teaching these days. The email was in poor taste.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I would say that emailing was a bit extreme. Now, my niece had a highschool history teacher that told the class that Minneapolis AND St Paul were the capital of MN together. His claim was that that is why they are called the Twin Cities. DN tried to tell him that that was not the case. She had lived in MN for 3 years and knew that only St Paul was the capital. He told her that if she put that on her exam, he would mark it wrong. Now THAT is a problem.

Now call me lazy--I had dreamed of being a teacher one day...but it would never occur to me to not double check my information (state capitals are so easy to do) before doing something like that. Just to make sure I didn't makea goofy mistake. But that's the ODC side of me.

I guess the history teacher didn't take geography?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This is why fewer and fewer people are going into teaching these days. The email was in poor taste.

I'll have to go back and read what she said in the e-mail....

but you are saying that teachers don't want to own up to mistakes...

Or they don't wish to be embarrassed by their mistake.

I would expect teachers to be competent and if they are giving out incorrect information (am I to understand that "ir"regardless was actually in that dictionary?) they need to be told.

Why let it slide?

 

[arminnie]

For me, it's not the fact that the teacher made a mistake. It sounds like the teacher was a wise-@## about it and pulled the old, "I'm right and you're wrong, neener, neener". So she was not only incorrect, she was also being a less than stellar teacher. Not the kind of attitude I'd want in a classroom.
Everybody makes mistakes but everyone should also be willing to take a second look at a situation and own up to their mistakes.

That's the part that I have a problem with also - the teacher's attitude. And for everyone who says it was "only" a math teacher, would you feel the same if an English teacher had a hissy fit about insisting that 2+2=5?

 

[ChrizJen]

I would remind my kid that it is rude to correct other people's grammar, even if someone else did it first. Then I'd remind her that she is a kid and has no business correcting adults, because that's rude, too.

I also would like to say that I disagree with the statement, "you're a child and you have no business correcting an adult."
I do think that kids should have respect for adults, but I would NEVER discourage a child from questioning the actions of adults. I think that there are times when we have a lot to learn from children!

 

[Lanshark]

I'll have to go back and read what she said in the e-mail....

but you are saying that teachers don't want to own up to mistakes...

Or they don't wish to be embarrassed by their mistake.

I would expect teachers to be competent and if they are giving out incorrect information (am I to understand that "ir"regardless was actually in that dictionary?) they need to be told.

Why let it slide?

What do you accomplish by calling her on it? Is it an attempt to correct her or humiliate her? Why would any parent email a teacher over something so miniscule? That said, I have no problem with the student questioning her in a respectful manner.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

What do you accomplish by calling her on it? Is it an attempt to correct her or humiliate her? Why would any parent email a teacher over something so miniscule? That said, I have no problem with the student questioning her in a respectful manner.

Communicating with the teacher privately is not humiliating.
(the anonymously e-mail wasn't necessary and i have no idea how someone can send an e-mail anonymously. )

How exactly does one get humiliated when confronted in private? OP didn't post the context of her e-mail and say she berated the teacher or anything.

I think the teacher did a fine job of humiliating herself if she looked up "regardless" and insisted it was "irregardless".

As a parent I would have spoken up.



(One day those kids who heard that could become members of the DIS and then get laughed at for their poor grammar. )

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

It's non-standard English. Teachers should be held to a higher standard of speech, regardless of field.

If a teacher can't ever admit they are wrong, then they shouldn't be teaching. Plus to repeat the word loudly a few times in response seems childish. How much is this school costing? I'd send the e-mail too.

 

[teacherforhi]

First of all, the teacher had the student look up the word in the dictionary and that student said it was in there. Regardless of whether it was or not, the teacher based it on what was said in class.

Next, I believe the OP should read "Frindle" by Andrew Clements and calm down.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

First of all, the teacher had the student look up the word in the dictionary and that student said it was in there. Regardless of whether it was or not, the teacher based it on what was said in class.

I did re-read that..I misunderstood. In either case it is a little ironic that the student took the word of the incorrect student and failed to prove her own case.

But that is okay. It isn't the first nor the last time that a student will be told something that is incorrect.

(I do remember teachers who have made honest mistakes on tests that was caught by the student. I'm soo glad that my teachers were a little more respectful of the student and not insist they were wrong.)

 

[Beth76]

I also would like to say that I disagree with the statement, "you're a child and you have no business correcting an adult."
I do think that kids should have respect for adults, but I would NEVER discourage a child from questioning the actions of adults. I think that there are times when we have a lot to learn from children!

But interupting the class and doing so in front of the class in inappropriate. It's completely something else if the kid said something to the teacher alone after class.

 

[almacdonald]

Finally some people who find it unacceptable for teachers to be "teaching" students mistakes.

Whether the teacher is an English teacher or Math teacher, I'll guarantee that they took at least 1 course of college/university level English to get their degree. It doesn't matter whether a teacher makes a grammar mistake, a geography mistake or incorrectly derrives arctan(3/4pi)^e, I believe the appropriate action would be to admit that it was a mistake and move on. What's with making a student look up an imaginary word in the dictionary?

I'm thinking that a lot of posters who were opposed to the OP and her Daughter's courses of action are just arguing for the sake of arguing. After all, the daughter wasn't the one who originally pointed out the mistake, it was a class mate. Only when the teacher became defensive did the daughter speak out. Can these same people honestly say that they wouldn't mind their children being taught a bunch of BS? I call shenanigans!