I am positive my son's 3rd grade teacher did not read or write at a high school level. He did receive his "Writing Journel" back at the end of the year with a multitude of correction marks. Most of them, including the cover spelling, were in her handwriting. Most of them were incorrect. His kindergarten teacher insisted that all words in English must have a vowel and that a e i o and u are the only vowels. When he asked how "try" is a word them, she got angry instead of getting curious. He explained that y and w are "sometimes-vowels" (his term). She chose to yell at him for asking questions too hard for his classmates, rather than saying "You're right!"
Sadly, I've come to discover that there are many elementary teachers who are there because they can't teach anything else, not because they truly want to be there. Looking at a teacher's credential can tell you a lot about him/her. Does she have extra authorizations? A Masters in her field of study (not education)? University level continuing education courses?
I actually don't mind that elementary teachers aren't capable of high school and college level work. I do care that they believe they are capable and insist that they are correct. I know I don't have a Ph.D in theoretical physics so I wouldn't even begin to answer a question, let alone argue it. Yet my son has encountered a few teachers who would argue back, dig in so hard and straight out refuse to admit mistakes.
