Originally Posted by another bloody yank

My attitude about school, any school is this- Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed. I have no issues with my kids school, it's very small (80 kids from k-5th) and the teachers are great. I just treat their school learning as supplemental to what my wife and I teach them at home. We sit with them to do homework every night and go over everything until they understand. When my son was having trouble with his spelling words we requested a copy of the teachers text and practiced the words using repetition and flashcards the week before the words were assigned at school. This gave him a week's head start and he ended up raising his grade from a D to a B+.

I figure my jobs as a parent are to raise kids who aren't assholes, to teach them what they won't learn in school and to expand on what is taught in school. School may tell you how to add and subtract but it won't tell you why or in what instance this might be useful.

Use every opportunity to teach. When you are stopped in your car, have them read the signs to you. On a longer car trip have them figure out if you have "x" miles to travel and you have already driven "y" miles, how much further is your destination?

Read to them constantly, let them pick the book. We've read to my kids since they were infants and now both of them read several grade levels higher than average for their age and better yet, read books on their own, for pleasure.

I guess what I'm saying is don't leave your kids education to the school. Espescially if you are unhappy with it, but even a good school can only go so far.

Originally Posted by goldcrown

I can certainly volunteer to type up her letters to parents, if success at handling small children and proper spelling are mutually exclusive. But I do think it odd that right out of the gate, she is making these mistakes.

Originally Posted by goldcrown

I agree, but having heard 'BirmingHAM' all weekend (in Michigan for a wedding), I have issues with pronunciation of English names. I've had it up to here with 'Westminister' (Minister like the preacher), too.

Why must Americans change the pronunciation? These towns were named by English, were they not?

Originally Posted by snowbunny

Talk to parents who had her last year. Perhaps she's dysgraphic. Perhaps that letter has been typed and not revisited in a few years. See if you can dig up a copy of last year's intros (you'd be surprised what people keep). Look at the other classes' intros.

You need to get tied into the school rumour mill. Volunteer to do anything the school needs doing before the year begins. Maybe she's the mayor's love child, who knows?

Originally Posted by veronica jayne

Because it is their country and we are guests. I think we tend to forget that when you go to the UK things are pronounced differently in different cities! A friend of mine said you have to get used to London being London, Lundin, Lundun, Londin, Londan, Lunden, depending where you are! It is hard for non Brits to know what is being said from city to city sometimes.

I heard two young mothers on the crosstown bus the other day, one told the other (and so fast it sounded like one long word!) a told er, ee is speakin English bu you ere tellin im is spellin's wrong, it's because you don speak the Queen's English an ee dus. Shu rer gob up riraway.

Case closed, lol

Originally Posted by Tootsie Frickensprinkles

I totally agree, if they must change words, or the pronunciation of words so be it. The difference is though, I have never had anybody, I don't think anywhere else in the world, tell me I was the one speaking incorrectly. It is so rude.

Walked out of a dealership over the pronunciation of Renault.

From what I've seen of the comparison curriculums, schedules and classroom practices, I'd not want kids of mine going to kindergarten had they done a reception year.

Originally Posted by veronica jayne

We Brits seem to tell the Americans they don't speak correctly all the time, and usually it is people with hard to understand accents themselves. We tell them they are pronouncing their cities incorrectly!!! Obviously forgetting that the Brits will pronounce it differently also, depending where they are from.

Originally Posted by veronica jayne

We Brits seem to tell the Americans they don't speak correctly all the time, and usually it is people with hard to understand accents themselves. We tell them they are pronouncing their cities incorrectly!!! Obviously forgetting that the Brits will pronounce it differently also, depending where they are from.

Originally Posted by snowbunny

My fave is Who-ston as in the Scotland Houston, for the one in Texas which we pronounce as Hyew-ston.

Originally Posted by Tootsie Frickensprinkles

Well yes ... but I don't though, which is why I am so intolerant of it. It's not so much place names that irks me, I used to pronounce Michigan wrong and corrected it when it was pointed out to me. If Alabamans want to say Birmingham that's their prerogative.

It is things like the Renualt incident that bother me, the French pronunciation takes precedence or is actually the correct one imo, but to tell me I'm not speaking correctly because I don't pronounce the t. In a dealership where somoene's actually trying to sell cars nonetheless. Now, I think its laughable, at the time I was fuming.

Originally Posted by jumping doris

A bit like "Jagwaar".
Although my friend here who has one now says it Brit style ....."jag-you-ar". If you know what I mean.

How do you say Michigan?
I say 'Mitchigan" my daughter gets cross and tells me it is "Mishigan"

Originally Posted by snowbunny

My fave is Who-ston as in the Scotland Houston, for the one in Texas which we pronounce as Hyew-ston.

Originally Posted by jumping doris

A bit like "Jagwaar".
Although my friend here who has one now says it Brit style ....."jag-you-ar". If you know what I mean.

How do you say Michigan?
I say 'Mitchigan" my daughter gets cross and tells me it is "Mishigan"

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

Yeah my husband has one...I say Ford.