I am suffering from a fit of consternation.
I am a teacher. I have a reputation to uphold. As do my fellow educators. Not because we want to. Because we have to. The public demands it. We perch on pedestals. Tall, wavering pedestals, in the style of those poles performers use to spin plates. Tall, bendy poles, where we sway to and fro, spinning, spinning, until one of us drops.
A few days ago, I received my quarterly professional educator organization's magazine in the mail. I browsed through it. Read the articles by or about people I know. Set it aside. This morning, I picked it up again. I was startled by an article with the title: Polices Protect Low-Income Students.
Hm...that's a lot of police protection. Polices. I read it again. Oh. Maybe the article is about policies. Policies! With an extra "i". That's got to be it.
Far be it from me to criticize a statewide magazine. I am not a shining example of perfection. When I go back and read my old blog posts, I notice several glaring typos or grammatical errors per post. But I am not a statewide magazine. Should somebody not have caught this error before the magazine went to press? Is that even what it's called? I know nothing about publishing a magazine.
Surely there are several people involved in proofreading the issue. We would not want our profession to become a laughingstock. "Ha, ha! Teachers can't even spell right! Look at their magazine!" What happens in a situation such as this? Do heads roll? Are letters placed in files? Official reprimands doled out? Double-secret probation? Will the magazine print a correction in the next issue? Or let this sleeping dog lie, hoping that only educators read such a magazine? Educators who will close ranks and protect their own.
I am curious. How could this happen, and what happens now?
6 comments:
I can only say that the Declaration of Independence has three or four misspellings in it, so I figure when I spell something wrong I'm in good company.
Of course heads will role. The sleeping dog will not be allowed to lay. We certainly don't want people to sneer, saying "Those teachers. They can't even edit there own magazine."
'tis shocking times...
Val, that really is ridiculous! I don't blame you for being upset. I am, too, and I'm not a teacher, but I hate to see misspellings by "so-called" professionals!! If I were you, I'd be e-mailing the Editor, etc. of the magazine and give 'em a "what for!"
I can't begin to tell you how many teachers could not spell and readily admitted it when I taught in public school. It is a real sticking point with me.
Let's hope it was a tyop/typo.
Interesting .....
Stephen,
That might be because back then, their f and their s looked the same. To me, anyway.
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Sioux,
Of coarse.
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Becky,
I don't like to be the one pointing and laughing. Because three fingers are pointing back at ME!
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Linda,
I brought it up at the lunch table, and several teachers said, "Huh?" Even those who reported that they had read the recent issue. So I guess not every little guy or gal aspires to be a proofreader when they grow up.
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Kathy,
It would be like you announcing that people who arrive after your office is closed do not need to pay, but can stay for free. Except that such a faux pas does not hit us in our pockets, but instead lowers our status in the eyes of the general population.
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