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Friday, May 11, 2012

Teachers told to ignore spelling mistakes - IOL Lifestyle | IOL.co.za

A British member of Parliament has prompted some news coverage about a policy at a secondary school in his district that he fears is widespread across the country:
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. 
The news article confirms the MP's comments about the school policy. It says:
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.
The MP says:
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.
I agree that teachers must consider the self-confidence and self-esteem of students when evaluating their work. But allowing serious writing errors to go unmarked can be detrimental and embarrassing to student and adult self-confidence later in school and life. Spelling errors are serious writing errors.

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