20 blunders in 5 paragraphs: Virginia teachers union's error-riddled letter mocked
Virginia teachers union aka Arlington Education Association posted a letter calling for increased protection against the coronavirus and highlighted the lack of Covid testing in school district on Twitter. Although the intent was good, the letter posted by Ingrid Gant, President of the union was mocked after an appalled parent corrected the grammatical errors and posted the revised version of the letter online.
"Hey @VEA4Kids, are you going to send out more of these grammar worksheets over break?" wrote parent Ellen Gallery. "My kids and I had a great time spotting errors! Did we find them all?", quipped home-schooling mom.
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Arlington teachers union:
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) December 30, 2021
"The AEA calls on [the district] to provide testing to every student and staff member prior to returning to the classroom and/or remain virtual until January 18" pic.twitter.com/Zt1jnNHm8n
The letter talked about the need to address the spread of coronavirus amid the surging Omicron variant and demanded a delay in the resumption of classes until school testing capabilities are increased. The letter opened as, "On behalf of the members of Arlington Education Association, this dire expression lends great concerns for Arlington Public School return plans for January 3rd, 2022."
Gallery highlighted roughly 20 grammatical blunders in just five paragraphs in green pen in the letter that Gant has sent to the Arlington Schools Superintendent Dr Francisco Duran. Through the letter, the President of the teachers union requested Duran to increase the amount of on-site Covid tests for schools in Virginia.
My kids couldn’t write small enough to correct this letter but we shared some laughs and created this. I’d recently taught the 6yo about homophones, so the are/our mistake really cracked him up. https://t.co/YUTmMSC9pX
— Ellen Gallery (@ellenfgallery) December 31, 2021
Gant argued that teachers subsequently have to make the ultimate sacrifice as Omicron cases multiply, and urged Duran to not rush Arlington public school students back to the classroom. Virginia was one of the 15 states to report a record-high average daily infection. Arlington in particular saw an average of 163 cases each week as of December 28.
In the letter, Gant mistakenly used the word 'are' instead of 'our'. Referring to the surging Omicron cases in the Old Dominion, Gant wrote: "The fire departments in are region are exemplifying domino outbreaks as well."
In response to the letter, Gallery quipped: "My kids couldn't write small enough to correct this letter but we shared some laughs and created this," referring to her revised version of the letter.
Twitter users were quick to react to the poorly written letter. One user wrote, "Whoa. This is one bold, brave installation of illiteracy here. From the best and the brightest, and the ones in charge of kid learning and stuff. Ingrid Gant, you got some 'splaineen to do!".
Another wrote, "My high school English teacher would have given this letter an F for the failures to make subject and and verb agree in number. Just think how many University teachers let this error slide."
Another twitter user remarked, "To be fair, I wouldn't have noticed a lot of this, but some of them, c'mon, man. Fish should be able to swim. Football players should be able to throw a football. Teachers orgs should be able to send well-edited letters."
Whoa. This is one bold, brave installation of illiteracy here. From the best and the brightest, and the ones in charge of kid learning and stuff. Ingrid Gant, you got some 'splaineen to do! #forimmediatepressrelease @nyttypos @PressCalifornia https://t.co/xsEj3oX1wP
— Oscar W. (@OEthree) December 31, 2021
My high school English teacher would have given this letter an F for the failures to make subject and verb agree in number.
— Lois Rogers (@lois_rogers) December 31, 2021
Just think how many University teachers let this error slide. https://t.co/A7wDvr6GGi
To be fair, I wouldn’t have noticed a lot of this, but some of them, c’mon, man. Fish should be able to swim. Football players should be able to throw a football. Teachers orgs should be able to send well-edited letters… #Virginia https://t.co/1MFUuQdOfg
— andy 🇺🇸 (@andyjabbour) December 31, 2021