The Importance of Proofreading

Recently I had several complaints from students (who are teachers) about how I count off for spelling and grammar errors on their work. I ask them to spell correctly and write in complete sentences.

I have stated in my syllabus, which they get at the beginning of our class and during our class meeting about how correct spelling and grammar are important. They also get a rubric that I use which clearly states how I grade their work and one of the items is how they use spelling and grammar appropriately.

Each week, the teachers (my students) write up a weekly report that is sent home to the parents. This report has to be submitted to me for approval before it can be sent home. I’m always amazed how spellcheck is not used before they send this to me for a grade. I can easily see the misspelled words when I open up the document because the red squiggly lines are under the words. I don’t understand why the teachers don’t correct this before it is submitted for a grade. Then they are upset when this affects their grades.

They also don’t seem to proofread their work. I have gotten reports with sentences that don’t make sense or aren’t even complete sentences. Sometimes they cut and paste and even have the wrong child’s name in part of the report. I don’t understand why they don’t proofread their work. It irritates me that I’m expected to proofread their work and require them to correct the work. They get graded on the original work they submit but the report still needs to be corrected before it is sent home.

The only reasons I can see why they make these mistakes are:

1.     They are lazy.

2.     They wait for the last minute and are rushed.

3.     They don’t take pride in their work.

4.     They don’t care about their grade and want me to proofread their work.

I really don’t see a valid reason for a teacher to send home written notices home to parents with an abundance of errors on a consistent basis, especially if they are being graded on it.

How would these teachers feel if their own students turned in work like this? What kind of impression are they giving to the parents?

How do you feel about teachers using correct spelling and grammar? Please share.