I’ve had a policy at my house for awhile, which is that if I decide to drink in the evenings, I have to keep laundry cycling the whole time. I like the built-in safety of this: if I get caught up on laundry, I’ll know there’s a problem.
********
I’ve been having dreams night after night about moving to a new house. After it got to the point of incredulous laughter (“AGAIN??”), I looked it up on a dream interpretation site, where I found that it means I’m going through a big life change/re-evaluation, which, no kidding.
But also, in that same category, I found a bunch of stuff about what it means if you dream about bathrooms, especially if there are no doors on the stalls and/or the toilets are filthy and overflowing. The dream-interpretation sites have INTERPRETATIONS for that, along the lines of your psyche is clogged or you need more privacy in your life.
But do you know what it actually means? It means your body needs to pee, and your body doesn’t realize it’s dreaming so it’s about to wet the bed, and your brain is frantically scrambling for ANY reason why your body CANNOT PEE right now. That’s what it means. So that kind of calls the whole dream-interpretation thing into question for me.
********
Dilemma: Elizabeth’s spelling challenge words this week include “Dr. Seuss,” but the teacher has spelled it “Dr. Suess.” It’s spelled that way in more than one place, so it’s not just a typo. I’m not inclined to teach her to spell it incorrectly, but if I teach her to spell it correctly, she may get it marked wrong. …Actually, I guess this isn’t much of a dilemma, since the Worst Case Scenario is that she doesn’t get ONE possible BONUS point on her spelling test.
Still. It’s making me a little grouchy. I understand the source of the misspelling (it’s a hard name, even more so because the common nickname Sue is pronounced like the first sound of Seuss), and everyone makes mistakes (you’ll note I don’t blog about every “bring in their Valentine’s” and casual typos on every single memo/newsletter)—but this PARTICULAR word seems like a misspelling an elementary school teacher would be especially/professionally familiar with and therefore extra careful to avoid if she knew she had an issue with it. She’d think, “Oh, yes, Seuss—that’s a tricky one, and I can never remember how to spell it. I’d better make sure I’ve got it right, before I add it to the spelling words list!”
Have your daughter innocently question the teacher about the correct spelling. Perhaps by taking a book and saying “Look Mrs. Teacher, did they spell Seuss incorrectly on the front of this Dr. Seuss book??”
I think the worst case scenario is that she would learn to believe that Seuss is spelled Suess.
I am fascinated by the idea of a dream interpretation website. Never would have thought to look for something like that. The Internet has everything!
Speaking of Dr. Seuss, does anyone know why the Lorax is rated PG? Don’t they make G movies any more? Jeez Louise. Sorry, sore spot there.
Also, who thought it was a good idea to impose a romantic frame narrative on this story? Really, who read the Lorax and thought what it needed was a middle-school romance attached to it?
I think I go with your interpretation of the bathroom thing.
It is a tricky thing when a teacher sends home grammar stuff to study that is WRONG. I had this trouble at the high school level when I was tutoring a young woman. Mandi was taking a sample test from me and she told me I had something wrong.
“You wrote between you and me. It’s you and I.”
I said, “No, honey. You don’t say between WE, do you?”
She thought and said, “But my teacher marked me wrong and she said the SATs were wrong…”
I looked at her and got up and got three sources for her and said, “I am writing a note to your teacher and I will give her these resources. She can have this book. Give her my email, too, okay?”
It upset me that her teacher was doing this with such conviction. The teacher was sweet and actually thanked me and said she’d been doing this wrong all her life, since her parents had corrected HER… incorrectly. The teacher was only about 28.
I think it would be HARDER to deal with an elementary school teacher though… dilemma.
As for dreaming of the house? I have dreamed of a big yellow house that is a commune for me and my friends for about ten years now. I wonder.
cicip nuccest–yay. I can read the FIRST pair!
I have to put my two cents in here. I think you should mention it to the teacher! That’s a little silly to have all those kids learning to spell someone’s name the wrong way!
And I love trying to interpret my dreams. Whenever I’m stressed out and have lots of drama going on, I have nightmares about alligators or bears. Weird how brains work like that.
It’s a pet peeve of mine when schools send stuff home with grammatical errors or incorrect spelling. This happens on almost all of the take homes that get sent with Addy in her folder. They’re small things, usually, but still. It’s a SCHOOL. Can’t they at least use spell check when sending home memos and forms?
The other day I was in Addy’s classroom for a moment and saw a grammatical error on a poster the teacher had made and put on the wall. Sigh.
I have those bathroom dreams all the time and it is always because I really need to wake up and pee.
Why am I the only one wondering why “Dr. Seuss” is on a spelling list in the first place?
And of course The Lorax couldn’t be rated G – as far as I can remember, he doesn’t even wear any clothes, the little perv.
Just be straightforward with the teacher. Shoot her an e-mail: “Just wanted to let you know that the name ‘Seuss’ is misspelled on the list — the e and the u are reversed, so the list says ‘Suess.’ I told Elizabeth, but I figured you’d want to tell the rest of the class.”
I’m betting the teacher will hear from more than one parent. You’ll stand out if you’re matter-of-fact about the whole thing.
I might not be inclined to bring up a random mistake on a note, sign, etc (thought it would drive me CRAZY), but if it is something that is being taught to the kids, then yes – it MUST be corrected.
Holy hell that first section is a perfect cross between Dorothy Parker and Erma Bombeck. Love love love love it
PLEASE say you’re going to correct the teacher. There’s no excuse to teach kids the wrong information. I know they’re doing their best (see how I did that there?–ooh, three in a row!) but the number of errors I see coming home in letters from my kids’ (oh, an apostrophe! Used correctly!) teachers makes me completely crazy. It is not that hard for them to look something up if they are unsure.
Ok, sorry to sound like a raving lunatic. But really! Also, I, um, really like your blog. I will try not to be so emphatic next time.
I am frequently horrified by misspelling from teachers and school. I cannot help myself, I always point it out. It is just one of the things that drive me nuts :)
I’m glad my kids’ school isn’t the only one with teachers who get things wrong all the time. Or. Maybe I should be horrified the stupid isn’t contained to our little corner of the world. My daughter had TWO teachers pronounce hyperbole as HYPERBOWL. She was teaching the word and meaning to the class. I did correct her but my daughter seemed to pay the price for the rest of that school year. Teachers don’t care for parents correcting them. At least that’s been my experience. Letting the mistakes they make go without saying anything is DIFFICULT. But I usually do (now) so my kids won’t face the teacher’s wrath. Crossed that bride one too many times.
I’m going with : yes, please tell the teacher…. I think you could also pretend you’re not as clued in as you actually are and say, “Oh, it looks like there’s a typo here in ‘Seuss’….”
She probably won’t spend as much time analyzing as we have.
Oh, I would absolutely have to correct the teacher on that one, since it is TEACHING the child misinformation. I’m a former teacher, and while I would probably have been irritated to get that email, it would only be because I was actually embarrassed, and I would hate to have taught the kids the wrong thing. The matter-of-fact wording in slim’s post sounds good to me–or the other suggestion of sending Elizabeth to school with a book!
I think teachers are human and, you know, prone to mistakes as the rest of us are… However, I agree with the folks who say you should point it out because it is teaching the children wrong information.
FYI someone asked why Dr. Seuss would be on a spelling list… March 2nd was his birthday and is a big deal in elementary schools because it is Read Across America Day – so she’s probably just highlighting that. :-)
LOVE the laundry idea!
N has occasionally had an incorrect word on her spelling list, which could be that N did it (since they write the words in their agenda) or it could be the teacher spelled it wrong on the board. Either way, I tell her the correct way. I wouldn’t stress over it unless I saw numerous and consistent teacher errors.
I know someone who was an elementary teacher and her Facebook posts, emails and even Christmas cards are examples of “Why Some People Should Not Be Given Elementary Teaching Degrees No Matter What.” She can’t spell even the simplest of words. And evidently she has never heard of a spell check.
I frequently have that dream!!! I think you need to publish real dream meaning books.
HAHAHAHA, LOVE your drinking/laundry idea! Brilliant! (You should make magnets out of that one, too! I’d put that on my fridge!)
And what a DUMB spelling word? What is the point of teaching that, anyhow? Are they teaching OTHER author’s names?
Yeah, I think you need to correct the teacher on the Dr. Seuss thing. She’ll probably be embarrassed, but a) a teacher should know how to spell Dr. Seuss, especially if she’s testing kids on it, and b) it will keep her from embarrassing herself with this mistake year after year.
I am with everyone saying to correct the teacher. I would just do a quick email saying “I think there might have been a typo-Suess is actually spelled Seuss.” No big deal, and of course I wouldn’t mention the fact that I am HORRIFIED by the fact an elemceentary teacher cannot spell Seuss.
Hah, karma bites me-I mistyped elementary. Maybe I should be adopting the wine plus laundry credo.
I’ve heard that to interpret dreams, you should think about how you felt in the dream, and then think about what in real life makes you feel that way, and that’s probably what the dream is about.
Hmmm….cleaning while drinking. Now THAT is an idea I can get on board with! It probably makes the cleaning part waaaay more enjoyable.
As for the teacher typo situation – I get memos and announcements sent home with my preschooler fairly often with minor grammatical and/or spelling errors on them. It makes me completely crazy! IT’S. A. SCHOOL. I like everyone’s suggestions about telling the teacher. I am also kind of relieved to hear it happens everywhere and not just my little local Florida preschool!
Oh, thank goodness. When I saw your title I thought, “OH dear. Swistle doesn’t know how to spell Seuss.”
No way would I point it out to the teacher. I don’t want to be that guy. I want to be the smug-silent-RIGHT guy.
1. I love the alcohol/laundry idea. Hilarious!
2. YES, dreams about bathrooms ARE your brain keeping you from wetting the bed!
3. Reading about all of these teacher errors is making me crazy. I know, teachers are HUMAN and humans make mistakes. But ARGH.
I have the “no doors on the bathroom stall” dream a lot, but I’ve never had to pee at the time. Weird!
I say point out the spelling error to the teacher. She’ll probably appreciate you pointing it out rather than a kid or another teacher.
I have those creepy bathroom dreams ALL THE TIME. Have I mentioned I get thirsty every night just before bedtime?
The teacher thing. I get irked. My workplace contracts a former elementary school teacher to write a monthly column for us. The poor grammar and spelling MAKES ME INSANE.
These comments are cracking me up (and I’ve got to echo all those who say It Must Be Corrected, preferably matter-of-factly.) No, an elementary school teacher isn’t a professional copy editor, and that’s fine. There are a lot more important things to be taught/ accomplished in grade school (so says this professional copy editor who is terrible at editing her own stuff and also maybe sometimes has bad dreams about being caught trying to teach a classroom of first graders). But there’s no reason to teach kids how to spell something wrong, and I’m guessing you won’t be the only parent who notices.
1. I like the laundering while intoxicated plan! Just have to be really careful on the stairs to and fro the basement/laundry.
2. I have the moving/new house recurring dreams too… and most of the time it’s that I’m regretting the move or the new house has something awful about it we didn’t notice at first. Hmm. And the horrible bathroom dreams.
3. That would be awful if the teacher tried to play it off like “What – you’re not familiar with Dr. Suess, the gastroenterologist?”
REALLY enjoying the comments on the Dr. Seuss thing–makes me feel better (or more resigned, perhaps) about the number of errors I see on my own son’s take-home materials from school.
Now, my first-grade son would have corrected the teacher before the paper was even sent home, assuming there was some classroom/pre-test element to the spelling list. He does this constantly; at his conference yesterday, his teacher (I hope lovingly) referred to him as her “co-teacher.” On the one hand I’m proud that he is not afraid to show what he knows, since I’m assured that he does it in a constructive rather than know-it-all manner. On the other hand, at some point we’re probably going to run up against a teacher who will not like this, and I don’t exactly know what I’ll do then.
Did you see that The Lorax movie is sponsored by Mazda? I think the good doctor is turning over in his rhymey grave.
I hate when people spell it ceasar.
I’m a first grade teacher…and I would certainly appreciate being told if I made an error on a notice or spelling list. It happens to everyone… especially when you are typing with 17 children all needing your attention at the same time! We do our best, but we are human and we all fall short. If I can find a “free” teacher to read my notices, I do…often we can not see our own mistakes ..a strange phenomenon. I love when the children find my errors…it is a great moment to point out that we all make mistakes and that mistakes help us to learn. I learn so much from my students every year! I don’t know any teacher that wouldn’t appreciate help if given with kindness and love!
Teach her to spell it correctly and let the chips fall where they may on the test. If Elizabeth spells it correctly and is marked off, take the opportunity to teach her that even adults make mistakes sometimes, and then teach her how to approach the teacher about it. Maybe Elizabeth could take a Dr. Seuss book with her to class, and show the teacher why she spelled it the way she did on the test. If the teacher is worth anything at all she’ll be glad to have it pointed out to her, she’ll take the opportunity to demonstrate to the kids how to be gracious, and Elizabeth will have learned a good lesson about standing up for herself with really low stakes. Anyway, that’s how I’d handle it.
I think you should point it out. A lot of parents might not even notice/know the proper spelling.
2 years in a row I pointed out the same error in kindergarten math homework. Both times the teacher was grateful and said she’d fix it. I’m fairly certain I will see the same error when Liv goes to kindergarten in 2013.
this is easy. Give a friend or relative the teacher’s email address and have them anonymously (hope that’s spelled right) write her an email pointing it out.
A bit off topic, but I read this and thought of you:
http://twisterfish.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/the-things-you-learn/
I’m trying to catch up on my blog reading tonight and I have to say that I love reading your’s! It keeps me laughing most of the time so thanks!