Nikolaus is now in grade 2, so he's done 3 years at the same school, had the same art teacher and **** I am so sick to death of her spelling his name wrong! I have said things in the past and she still does it.
I can understand his first name.... there is another boy his his class with the name but its spelt NICHOLAUS so I thought she might get it this year.
Then to top it off.......she keeps spelling our last name minus the o . Im really at my wits end and have been really tactfull todate with it but Im just about at the end of my teather now, especially as I said she has been pulled up on it in the past and has been his art teacher for 3 years!
It also gets Nikolaus down because he has told her how to spell his name and he said she just writes whatever and ignores him. I dont think its appropriate to behave like this with children and it seems to me that she is brushing Nikolaus off. Nikolaus is quiet sensitive and the one thing he 'owns' without his brother having anything claim on it is his name, so he is quiet attatched to it IFYKWIM
Im about ready to go and have a nioce little 'chat' with her to tell her my thoughts......What would you do in this circumstance?
i'd be saying something again Maz - it's not helping your son learn how to spell things correctly if she doesn't do it
if she still keeps her head up her butt, go to the principal and get it dealt with - you've asked nicely, HE has asked nicely - it's time to pull her up properly!
I agree with BG, go and speak *yet again* to the teacher, I would also make an appointment with the principal to voice my concerns and put it from the point of view that it is distressing your son.
but no, you need to deal with this - it can't help any childs academic progress if teachers are disregarding something like the spelling of their name!
I honestly think it's incredibly disrespectful to Jed & Yourselves and would be more offended about the incorrect spelling of his first name. To me it looks as though it is out of pure laziness and blatant disregard / disagreement for the way you have chosen to spell his name.
I think you have every right to be cheesed off about it. It is totally unacceptable and that behaviour from an adult is not something that a child should be exposed to - teachers are important people in childrens lives and get a lot of credit for the way they influence them.
What she is doing certainly isn't a good influence - for Nikolaus or any other child that sees it. She should act her age and show some flipping maturity and just spell his damn name right.
I had the same thing with my DD this year when she started prep as her name is Mayleaka but likes to be called May the teacher would ALWAYS write her name as MAY and even when Mayleaka was trying to write her name on her art work they would never help her out and just let her spelt it how ever she wanted without correcting her....
I have no advise though sorry but I do know how annoying it is when they cant get it right!!! and they are ment to be teachers....
I have a Surname that can have a double letter in the middle or not. Almost everyone puts in the double letter even though I have only ever come across one person who actually spells it that way.
Anyway, at the start of Year 3 we had to write our full names for some reason and mine came back with a big red line through it and a double letter where I had (correctly) put a single. I went home that night and was apparently really quiet. What I remember was when I went to bed crying my heart out and when Dad came to tuck me in I through my tears said "you never told me it was wrong" apparently it was all I could say was over and over and it went on for ages until I finally went to sleep exhausted. Once I was asleep Mum in a desperate attempt to work out what could possible be wrong went through my school bag. She found the paper with my name crossed out and put two and two together.
She was so mad she drove us to school the next morning and went and spoke directly to the Head Mistress and the Head Mistress then came and got the teacher out of class. She was well and truly told off for what she did.
My Head Mistress was the most wonderful old nun who at assembly that week gave quite a speech on the importance of identity and how important a name is as it is the one thing that we come into this world with and leave this world with and always have inbetween. And it is something that no one can take away from us. I know that in a school of hundreds of kiddies that whole speech was just for me and I still think warmly of that old Nun.
I suppose the moral to my story is that to me my name was hugely important and not only could someone not get it right but they made me think that I had got it wrong. So, I know how your DS feels. And I think that it is hugely important that the teacher is given a little encouragement to get it right. It isn't like it is that hard to get right - specially if she has been teaching him for years.
Take a leaf out of my Mum's book and go kick some but!
Hi Maz,
I am a teacher and I didnt realise I was spelling a childs last name incorrectly (mind you it did have every single letter int he alphabet in it - well just about). As soon as the mother told me I corrrected it and told her to bring in any certificates that I had written with his last name on them back to me so I could write him new ones with the correct spelling. I was very embarrassed as I usually take the upmost care with spelling names so made sure I never did it again. Teachers are only human but this does not excuse her behaviour to continue to ignore your simple requests to spell your sons name correctly.
It is very bad form of this teacher to continue showing such disregard for the spelling of your sons name when she has already been notified by you and your son so many times. I would go over her head now. You gave her the opportunity to fix the problem and she hasn't. I think the way you spell your sons name is lovely as are your other childrens names.
Just to be cheeky you could write her a letter spelling her name wrong and pronouce her name wrongly to her and see what she thinks. As a teacher I wouldnt do this but as a parent (when I am one) I would consider it!
Hope the meeting goes well on Wednesday. Let me know if you want any more advise from a teachers point of view.
I asked Nikolaus who he felt about it before and he said it made him upset cause he has to keep telling her but Nikolaus being Nikolaus.....said dont worry mum, she's old and probably forgets a lot of things....always putting others in front of himself.
Alibaby - I thought about sending her a letter and missspelling her name but that would be scoping to her level of being plain stupid and that's jsut not me. IM very black and white so its best if I do as you said and go over her head now.
muppity - thank you to for sharing your story...it sounds like Nikolaus is the same as you in regards to feeling ect. Thank you for letting me see alittle more of what my darling boy is going through emotionally.
On the same topic but different point.....the teacher is sure gonna be screwed when she has Vyolett and Mateauz in a few years time
i rang to double check if our appointment was tomorrow and it WAS but has been postponed until mid November OH:
Doesnt matter cause I have to speak to the principal tomorrow about Nikolaus' christening (he wants to be baptised before chirstmas) so she'll have to listen to what ive got to say
miss spelling of his name
with her to tell her my thoughts......What would you do in this circumstance?
for Niklaus from me.
As a teacher I wouldnt do this but as a parent (when I am one) I would consider it!
OH:
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