. . .irregardless

[Kendra17]

My daughter is going to a very academically exclusive high school. Yesterday, her math (not English, thank goodness) teacher used the word, "Irregardless". My daughter immediately recognized that it wasn't a proper word, of course, but chose not to say anything. Another student piped up, "That's not a word." The teacher said, "Yes, it is." So, a few other students, including my daughter, stated that it was not a word.

The teacher brought a dictionary to one of the other students and had him look it up. The student looked up "regardless" and found it. So, he stated-- incorrectly-- that it WAS a word.

The teacher then said, "I told you it was a word." And, she proceeded to use this 'word' three more times (extra loudly) throughout the class.

What would you do, if anything? I wound up emailing the teacher to let her know it is not a word, but I emailed her anonymously! I included sources.

I guess there are bigger issues in the world, but this high school is one of the top 50 in the country. Opinions?

 

[becka]

Well technically it is a word although it may not be considered a proper word. Here is the link to dictionary.com which has the entry for irregardless from the American Heritage Dictionary.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=irregardless

ir·re·gard·less (r-gärdls)
adv. Nonstandard
Regardless.

Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.


And to answer your question honestly I would just drop it. It is not that big of a deal and I am sure your child's education will not be harmed if a teacher occassionally uses a word incorrectly.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

I would drop it as well....

isn't this how language develops???? - if a word is used over and over (correct or not - and since when does the English language make perfect sense???) it becomes part of the language - especially for casual and spoken language, although not so much for formal. My take on these things is: if you are writing a formal paper, etc...then sweat it...otherwise, it isn't that big a deal....as you can see from how I post on the Internet.....

 

[peachgirl]

I think you've already gone overboard by emailing over such a trivial matter.

Btw, the teacher was right, it is a word.

 

[almacdonald]

I'm with the OP on this one! "Irregardless" drives me bonkers. It's the double negative in the word that gets to the scientist in me. Oh, and "orientated", that's another word that makes my blood boil!

 

[Bob Slydell]

Worrying about the English skills of a math teacher is like worrying that your history teacher can't do algebra. It's irrelavent

 

[CheshireVal]

I would have dropped it. An anonymous email is a bit over the top, in my opinion. Plus, the teacher will KNOW it came from either a student or parent of one of the students who challenged her on the issue.

Even teachers aren't perfect.

 

[imsorry]

Maybe your incredibly hot husband could ask his blabbermouth masseuse if it is a word?

 

[Kendra17]

I'm with the OP on this one! "Irregardless" drives me bonkers. It's the double negative in the work that gets to the scientist in me. Oh, and "orientated", that's another word that makes my blood boil!

Thanks! I know that ain't is in the dictionary, too. But, does that make it acceptable?

And, when we add the "ir", it becomes a double negative. . . thereby changing the meaning entirely.

Had it not been a teacher, I wouldn't have said anything. But, she's TEACHING the kids! She should be teaching correctly. How many of those kids will start saying irregardless because this teacher told them it was a word?!

 

[becka]

I had to come back and ask. What exactly is the OP wanting to accomplish by e-mailing the teacher anonymously? Are you looking for some kind of public apology from the teacher? Are you trying to prove the she is not smart enough to teach at your child's school? I guess I am just confused about why a parent would ever do this.

 

[LuvDuke]

Worrying about the English skills of a math teacher is like worrying that your history teacher can't do algebra. It's irrelavent

Psst, it's spelled i-r-r-e-l-e-v-a-n-t.

 

[Kendra17]

Maybe your incredibly hot husband could ask his blabbermouth masseuse if it is a word?

(I was kidding around in that post. . . hope you know!).
My husband is a writer and used to teach advanced classes. He already knows it's not a word. Thanks!

 

[The Mayor]

I would climb down off my high horse and worry about more important things

 

[Bob Slydell]

Had it not been a teacher, I wouldn't have said anything. But, she's TEACHING the kids! She should be teaching correctly. How many of those kids will start saying irregardless because this teacher told them it was a word?!

Once again -- she's teaching them math. Was her lesson on the topic relying on her proper use of grammar?

 

[Kim&Chris]

I'd let it go. Who cares if the teacher uses a non-word? As long as your daughter recognizes that 'irregardless' is not a real word, then she's one step ahead of the game

 

[Bob Slydell]

Psst, it's spelled i-r-r-e-l-e-v-a-n-t.

See what I get for paying more attention in math class than English?

 

[peachgirl]

How many of those kids will start saying irregardless because this teacher told them it was a word?!

OMG! I never thought of that!! And then what will happen? It's the end of the world, that's what it is!!

One more time...You're wrong and your husband is wrong. It is a word.

 

[Kendra17]

I had to come back and ask. What exactly is the OP wanting to accomplish by e-mailing the teacher anonymously? Are you looking for some kind of public apology from the teacher? Are you trying to prove the she is not smart enough to teach at your child's school? I guess I am just confused about why a parent would ever do this.

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.

 

[Kendra17]

OMG! I never thought of that!! And then what will happen? It's the end of the world, that's what it is!!

One more time...You're wrong and your husband is wrong. It is a word.

No, PG, it's not really a correct word. It's a word only because too many people used the word regardless incorrectly.

It's not a word we would actually teach children to use. You are a teacher, aren't you? You would use this word? If a child used it in a paper, you wouldn't let them know that 'regardless' would be a better choice?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=irregardless&x=0&y=0

Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.

http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/081002.htm

It may be a 'word' but it's not standard.

 

[becka]

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.

It seems to bother you that this happened at such a "high rated" school. Would this not bother you as much if it was in just a regular high school?

Also, since there was obviously some discussion on the word (once again it is a word) any student who doubted the correctness of the word would be quite capable of using a dictionary to look up the usage themselves.....especially since these kids are at such a "high rated" school. I think I would be more upset that this topic would have taken up 5 minutes of time that should have been devoted to math!

Teachers are human and make mistakes and (gasp!) may not know everything about every subject even at the best high schools in the country.