Should I be concerned that my son's Kindergarten teacher misspells words?

Question

I have not seen evidence of it on any of the things in the classroom, but on the paperwork that she sends home, there are numerous misspellings. They are not typing errors either - since they are typically handwritten. Today she wrote that they worked with "micrascopes". And it is quite obvious it is an "A" - it isn't that I'm mis-reading it. I just worry that the children are at such an impressional age and spelling is a huge pet peeve for me. Am I just being an annoying parent? Or should I mention something to the administration?

Thanks to everyone for your answers so far....I realize that misspellings will happen and that no one is perfect. I just worry that this is a teacher who will be teaching my child to read (one of the goals of our kindergarten program). Spelling, obviously, is a key part of reading. I just feel that a teacher should be able to spell. Am I crazy?

Answer 1

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a teacher. I've done 2nd grade and kindergarten and I see it ALL THE TIME in the newsletters sent home by my kids' classrooms and it drives me INSANE! I want to take out a little red pen and correct it and send it back to them. Ugh. Yes, kids will pick up on the incorrect spelling and then have to see it several times over the proper way in order to change the spelling in their minds. They take for granted that every word a teacher spells in front of the class is perfect. And it should be, if you ask me. You should mention it to the principal- he or she can discreetly mention that "a parent" is concerned over her spelling and can she please be more careful when spelling in front of the class? Make sure the principal knows you don't want to be singled out because she may end up frosty to you for the rest of the year and that's a lonnnnng time from now. Good luck!

Answer 2

I always thought teachers should be the best at spelling too. Until last year. My daughter started school and was in a K-1 class and I decided that I would volunteer, and ended up there a lot. The teacher and I really got along well and she tended to be relied upon by the administration to fix their computer/copier/printer/etc problems, which was another reason I ended up going so often. I knew my being there helped keep the kids on task when she was called out of the room. We decided to go for lunch one day, and as we were walking out I noticed that the sign out front telling of an upcoming event to all who drove past was misspelled. I commented on it and told her how irritated that sort of thing makes me. Its a school for pete's sake, shouldn't they at least show the public they can spell??? She laughed and I found out later that she had even asked about it, and no one cared. But then, later in the year, I asked her to write me a letter of recommendation for a job, and she did, and when she handed it to me, I noticed she had badly misspelled a word. I asked her to fix it (has to be perfect if ya want the job, right?) and she laughed it off, telling me she had never been able to spell and she must have forgotten to run spell check.

So... the moral of the story is that I think possibly many of our teachers of young kids may have issues with spelling and since there is such a thing as spell check, they rely on it. So since your note was handwritten, she didn't have that to check it, and probably truly didn't know how to spell it. I don't know that you'll get a better teacher just because they know how to spell, but if you point out these things to your son starting now, it may also become something he works on because it bothers him too.

Oh and in my community newspaper, I have stopped reading it because there are so many daily misspellings that I spend too much time being distracted by those to actually get the gist of the stories. And those are journalists who DO use spell check!!!!

Answer 3

I understand your frustration (spelling is a pet peeve of mine too) but I probably wouldn't say anything if you have no other issues with the teacher. Given the fact that she is only a kindergarten teacher I wouldn’t worry about it. She won’t be teaching the kids how to spell microscope and I’m assuming that she is perfectly capable of spelling anything that she needs to be teaching 5 year olds! Maybe just keep this in mind and if there are any other problems in the future with her mention it then.

Answer 4

You should be a little concerned. First thing is while kindergarteners do NOT have to learn big words, the teachers do expose them to big words like "metamorphosis", "caterpillar". I am not able to remember more offhand, but there are quite a few the teachers write on the board, as part of learning butterfly lifecycle or how plants grow or water cycle. The kids will focus more on coloring/cutting the butterfly, but they do get exposed to big words.

The bigger reason I would be concerned is this: most likely this is like my kid's kindergarten teacher - she used to be very upfront and even proud about not being able to spell some long but fairly common words and would make a big show of running to the office to get her dictionary. I was not a big fan of her self-deprecating behavior and did not think of it as teaching the kids the use of a dictionary, it showed them more of how it is OK to be dumb.

It was not a 'ok to not know, but be curious' teaching moment, more of an "i am an incompetent teacher" moment.

I continued to recieve emails from her, using the wrong one for "here/hear", there/their... .

So, you should be a little concerned for the indirect impact of her misspelling. You need to find some anonymous way of getting it across to her.

Do not be direct, even the most dedicated teacher might retaliate in small ways, like picking your kid last for things, or just taking her work last from her table, or calling on her less often even if she raises her hand to answer...sounds silly, but I've seen it.

Answer 5

I have a job where most of my customers are high school teachers and I've been quite surprised at how many of them are terrible spellers. My dad is too, although otherwise he is extremely intelligent.

I don't know if it's a big deal or not. I guess if the things she teaches them are spelled correctly, then that's probably ok. I wouldn't go over her head to the administration. If you feel you want to say something I'd say something to her privately in a very careful way as to not come off as rude.

Answer 6

This question made me laugh at first, because I've never heard of a teacher who can't spell, let alone a KINDERGARTEN teacher!!
Yes, I'd be a little worried..
This is your child's first teacher, and is goinng to make a huge impression on him..
You could maybe tell the administration, so they can observe, to see if the children are going to have a disadvantage being taught by her.
It may just be that the teacher had a rough day, and couldn't think straight=]]
It wouldn't hurt to have administration check on her, just to be safe=)

Answer 7

Eye woodn't wurry. merely kidding! certainly, i could discover it stressful, yet she is probable writing notes whilst additionally conserving her eye on 20 or extra babies. i be responsive to that I finally end up writing a number of my notes on the tip of the day whilst issues get frantic in the lecture room, and whilst i desire i'm spelling each and every observe properly, i ought to omit some whilst i'm gazing the class too. i'm variety of a freak that way--I reread the word like three times, yet in keeping with hazard she does not. Is each and every thing else going nicely? Is your new child chuffed in college? Is your new child studying? If she starts off coaching the babies a thank you to spell words incorrect, then in keeping with hazard point out it, yet otherwise i does not. it is going to set you up for rigidity the the remainder of the 12 months, whether the instructor does not instruct you. have confidence me, there are mothers and dads that make us take a deep breath whilst they walk in the room (GULP) and you do not want to be that be certain until eventually it extremely is mandatory! i desire this facilitates! needless to say, in case you think of it extremely is having a unfavourable impact on your new child, say something, yet otherwise, wait it out. sturdy success! (by employing the way, I reread this some situations too. Did I do ok?)

Answer 8

I'd say a little concerning, however she is probably writing about 20 notes and perhaps rushes a bit. I am assuming she concentrates more on when she is teaching the children and she can most likely spell the words on a kindergarten level.

I definately would not go above her head on this.

Answer 9

Educators must at leased know how to spell correctly. there is no excuse for that. they are in constant schooling themselves to stay up to date and if they are misspelling words, then your child will be miss spelling words the way the teacher is teaching them to spell, garbage in, garbage out I say. I would have the teacher reevaluated in proper grammar and spelling before she teaches my child any further.

Answer 10

I would be concerned but not really freak out over it. Some people just happen to be poor spellers even if they are well educated. Sometimes they are dyslexic. Just tell your child about the spelling mistakes and let him know the correct ones.