Ok, this is not to start a debate.. I do not say the word aint, and in turn my kids dont either..To me, it doesnt sound like proper English.. Ok, this is just my opinion.,.My son has told me over the years, that when kids say it in class, "some" of the teachers will correct the kids..This yr my son has 3 teachers, and he told me today that his Social Studies teacher, who is a man, uses the word aint all the time.. Now, would that bother you? Or is it common for teachers to use the word as well?

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 06:28 pm:

My sophomore in high school, has 7 teachers and reports that none of her teachers use the word. I haven't heard it from any of the elementary or middle school teachers, either. Now, whether I would go and talk to the teacher, or the principal, is another story. It seems unprofessional and one should strive to be more professional when teaching young kids.

By Paulas on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 06:46 pm:

I am a kindergarten teacher and I don't use the word "ain't".

By Cat on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 07:00 pm:

Robin's first 5th grade teacher (the one that couldn't handle him) used it, among other grammatically incorrect words/phrases. It drove me nuts to listen to this man talk. I think it's inappropriate for teachers to model anything but proper English. How do they expect the kids to use it if they don't. Jmho, of course.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 07:56 pm:

You're correct, it is NOT proper, and teachers certainly should NOT be saying it. Ditto Cat, if the teachers use the word, how can they expect the students NOT to? Personally, I'd complain to the principal. IMO, this teacher is a liability.

By Katherine on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 08:26 pm:

Last year in 5th grade, my ds came home and told me that his teacher couldn't even speak right so how could she teach him. She wasn't using the word "ain't", but it was her pronunciation. Being in the South, sometimes different cultures use different pronunciations. That bothers me almost as much as improper grammar.

By Tink on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 09:16 pm:

Ditto Cat and Karen. I hate it. I think it sounds uneducated and is a poor role model for my kids. Would I say anything to the teacher? No, but I would tell my dks that we don't feel it is appropriate and they were not to use it.

By Melanie on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 10:13 pm:

Yes, it would bother me. I do not use that word, but my seven year old has been using it lately. I correct him every time and ask him to say the sentence again using proper English. I would expect more from a teacher.

By Pamt on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 - 11:08 pm:

Absolutely not correct and I might say something to the teacher. At the very least I would let my children know that it is substandard English and we won't be talking like that. My 2nd grader told him that his teacher taught them to say "umble" for "humble." I informed him that that is an old Southern pronunciation and not the preferred way to say it. It wasn't worth mentioning to the teacher though.

As for Katherine's comment about living in the deep south...that can be a problem sometimes. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association dialect is NOT considered a speech or language problem and is actually an important part of identifying with one's culture. So, if I do therapy with a child who speaks a different dialect (e.g., dat/that as in Cajun {CD} and African American dialects {AAD}, be/is {AAD}, aks/ask {CD, AAD}) I do not correct it as I would with a child who speaks Standard American English (SAE), but I do consistently provide a role model of SAE---with a bit of a Southern accent of course . Most educated people who speak a dialect, which ain't would be considered part of, do what is called "code-switching" which means they switch from dialect to SAE depending on the situation. Oprah is a great example of this. She frequently will use SAE with some guests and AAD with others.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 06:22 am:

It would bother me too. I occasionally use "ain't" for emphasis, and sometimes use a phrase my father used, "t'ain't so, McGee" to emphatically say that something isn't true, but a teacher should not use ain't or other bad grammer except as a teaching device or, very rarely, as emphasis.

I remember having to go to the dictionary to prove to one of my sons that his teacher had spelled a spelling word incorrectly - and writing a note to the teacher about it. Inexcusable from teachers, both the grammar and the spelling errors, in my book. I could live with a high school math or chem teacher not being the best grammarian, but elementary school teachers should know and be better. It is so darned hard to (a) convince your kids the teacher is wrong and (b) get them to understand that a teacher can be wrong in one thing and still be listened to and obeyed in other things.

By Mrsheidi on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 07:09 am:

As a former high school teacher, it drove me nuts to hear it from the kids and the teachers. I would always try to repeat what they said and in the correct grammatical format...hoping something would take. I always told my high school kids that when they are on a date, it's hard to impress someone when you can't even speak correct English. It REALLY reflects one's education.

By Bellajoe on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 08:22 am:

We used to say "aint ain't a word, and it ain't in the dictionary so you ain't gonna use it"

That sentence is a plethora of bad english! LOL

By Unschoolmom on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 10:15 am:

I love 'bad' english and am not convinced that it's bad but rather simply part of the way the language keeps changing and evolving. To me, we treat english, 'proper' english like a stale, unchanging thing and punish new words, slang and spellings in an attempt to keep it pinned down and dormant.

Maybe it's part class issue? 'Bad' and 'incorrect' english only seems to be a factor when the group is one that's looked down on like teenagers. Here in Nova Scotia our bad english is called a quaint dialect.

I love the word ain't. I think it expresses a feeling that 'I'm not' or 'I won't' just doesn't.

By Katherine on Thursday, November 11, 2004 - 12:51 pm:

Pam,

I switch from speaking SAE (thanks for the new terminology) to speaking with my southern slang depending on the situation.

I have noticed that my kids speak more correctly than I did growing up. When I was learning my colors, "yella" was one of them. LOL!

By Bea on Friday, November 12, 2004 - 12:12 pm:

I think the use of words like ain't, and not using the word said in front of quoted speech is a (dumbing down) of our language. I hate it, as I do most things that are used to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I think this type of speech labels you more quickly than dress or ability.

By Hdelfuego on Friday, November 12, 2004 - 10:01 pm:

I used to use ain't a lot being from La., but I really don't anymore. I can't quit saying y'all for anything, and I still get confused with good and well and where I'm supposed to use commas. I hate to admit I was a teacher for a couple of years before my dd was born. I'm just glad I taught math and didn't have to write essays. Even though all teachers (like me) aren't the best writers, I think everyone should make an effort to speak correctly to model it for the students if nothing else. JMO

By Colette on Friday, November 12, 2004 - 10:03 pm:

I'm with Bea.