Anonymous wrote:I haven't read great expectations but I know who wrote it. I assumed most other people do too.

I can name many books by famous authors, but haven't read them. I have an idea though about the books because they are so famous or they've been made into movie or musical. At school we learned genres, main representatives and saw list of their books. Had to pick one to read then write about it or discuss in class with the kids who also picked that book.
Remarque vs Hemingway for example. I picked Remarque to read, but can name several books by Hemingway and later in life read The Old Man and the Sea.
Once at worked asked 2 guys to name a book by Hemingway (was slow, we were bored). The American couldn't remember any, the foreigner knew several.
I don't know what kids study at school here. Ask them anything that you think they should know and they don't know it. London is not the capital of Paris and there hasn't been a third WW yet.

Why would you expect a 4th grade teacher to know this information? It isn't because she will be teaching it. I didn't read Dickens until high school and she probably didn't read it at all. I went to an "old school" Catholic high school so we did read classics like Dickens but my friends in public school didn't. I took a few extra literature courses in college as electives but if she didn't take anything beyond the required English classes, I can see why she didn't know it.

This exemplifies what I've experienced in this country, to wit, that standards for teachers in this country are abysmal. There have been books written on how teacher colleges scrape the bottom of the barrel and what incentives, financial and other, can the USA set up to lure more intelligent and competent students to the teaching profession.

I went to school in different European countries, and my children go to public school here as well as weekend school in their native language. The difference in the general knowledge, teaching rigor and overall culture of French/British/German teachers compared to American ones is unfortunately very wide indeed.

My son was in fifth grade when he presented The Hound of the Baskervilles to his supposedly advanced reading group in public school - his teacher didn't know the book. I could go on with other examples and other teachers. Ignorance seems to be par for the course here.

Eh, 4th grade elementary teachers aren't usually specialized in one subject (aside from elementary education) nor would Great Expectations be a part of the typical 4th grade curriculum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She was on the spot.

You misspelled wrote. What's your excuse? How's that feel?

This.

+1 rote?

2nd rote is written properly, so let's go back to the question. Maybe she just forgot the author's name for a moment. I know highly educated Americans who can't name one philosopher from the past, speak only one language and can't calculate simple percentages. They also don't know much about geography, past composers or artists. Why should they know an author who wasn't even American.

I haven't read great expectations but I know who wrote it. I assumed most other people do too.

How many people reading this thread have read Great Expectations? I'm in my 40s and have a Ph.D. in a humanities field and I read it for the first time a couple years ago. It's not one of the more commonly assigned books by Dickens, and I don't know many people who read Dickens for fun. If OP could give more examples of this woman's cluelessness, I might be with her, but I don't think lack of knowledge of Charles Dickens makes someone a dumbass.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have three Master's Degrees and I am a 15+ year teacher who has taught elementary. I would have had no clue who wrote Great Expectations. I am not worried at all that I don't know this.

Well, have you ever read the book then? If not, that is a bit concerning.

I doubt it. Here is a little something else to chew on: my Undergraduate and Master's are from top 10 - 25 schools; my SAT scores were in the 97% and 98% (Reading & Math, respectively); my AP English score was a 5; and, my GRE scores were within 10 points of my SAT scores. I just haven't read that particular book and it doesn't bother me one bit.

I have a friend who is also an elementary school teacher from the Midwest. She knows so little about things that I always assumed most people know about. We were childhood friends ok the east coast and her family moved to the Midwest at a young age. Call me a snob but I think we have lived very different lives in terms of what we've been exposed to. She too has a masters degree.
Examples from recent conversations: no idea who william Faulkner or William Styron were. Asked if West Point was a " good school " because she never heard of it when I told her my son was applying. Did not realize that the euro was currency in Europe (thought French still used francs etc), had never heard of buffo mozzarella. Asked me if I had ever heard of "the seven sisters colleges",
I know I sound petty but I was shocked she wasn't aware of some of these facts I assume are just basic information you are aware of in this day and age.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She was on the spot.

You misspelled wrote. What's your excuse? How's that feel?

Clearly OP's was a typo. She got it correctly in the body. The teacher doesn't know this fact and it is concerning but not surprising.

Excuses, excuses ... OP is making judgements about one moment with one person so the rest of us cannot also make judgements about OP? Sigh.

You misspelled judgment.

Huh? No. It can be spelled with both an 'e' and without an 'e'. Look it up. OP, is that you coming in as the PP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She was on the spot.

You misspelled wrote. What's your excuse? How's that feel?

Clearly OP's was a typo. She got it correctly in the body. The teacher doesn't know this fact and it is concerning but not surprising.

Excuses, excuses ... OP is making judgements about one moment with one person so the rest of us cannot also make judgements about OP? Sigh.

You misspelled judgment.

Anonymous wrote:I have three Master's Degrees and I am a 15+ year teacher who has taught elementary. I would have had no clue who wrote Great Expectations. I am not worried at all that I don't know this.

Well, have you ever read the book then? If not, that is a bit concerning.

A teacher doesn't know who "rote" a second rate book by an irrelevant white male author? Who cares.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She was on the spot.

You misspelled wrote. What's your excuse? How's that feel?

This.

+1 rote?

What?

It's wrote, not rote.

I consider proofreading essential.