From the Independent:
'London - Teachers are being told not to correct more than three spelling errors at a time to avoid damaging pupils’ self-confidence, a British MP says. Andrew Selous highlighted the practice at a secondary school in his South West Bedfordshire constituency but fears it is widespread across the country.The Tory MP condemned not correcting all errors in a piece of work as a “false kindness” which denies pupils ‘fundamental’ skills needed in the job market.
Selous said he had been alerted by a worried mother but had decided not to name the school behind the policy. In a letter, she told him: “I have spent hours of frustration letter-writing but no one is able to help or offer support. “My children are hard-working but they need to be given the basic building blocks of English.”
The school’s controversial marking policy states: “Teaching staff are not to highlight any more than three incorrect spellings on any piece of work. “This is in order that the children’s self-confidence is not damaged.” Selous said: “We are not kind to children if we do not correct their use of language because it is one of the most fundamental blocks of any civilised society. “There are probably thousands of schools that have got this policy but it’s a false kindness and we are letting our children down.”
http://www.iol.co.za...takes-1.1294910
I get the fact that if a kid's work is absolutely littered with spelling mistakes that correcting them all at once makes the learning process a particularly cumbersome and difficult one, but the 3 per piece of work rule seems daft. What if a kid has made 5, 7 or 10 mistakes and they are not corrected? The danger is that that kid assumes the incorrect spelling is correct.
Having seen the standard of spelling in the CVs of recent school leavers over the last few years my heart sinks when I read about such practices - what hope have the kids got if they can't learn at school?
Am I right or am I being overly critical?
