Misconceptions...

I remember getting a bit confused when I was a kid, for many different reasons. I wasn't always sure how people were pronouncing words, I wasn't sure what I was eating and I certainly didn't understand the mystery surrounding what my parents referred to as, "the birds and the bees." The latter was something that they said I would "understand when I was older" so I grouped it with things like geometry, the big bang theory and evolution.

I see misconceptions in the children I teach too. When asked in a quiz which day was the longest day of the year one child wrote "Mondays." I, until fairly recently, thought that when someone achieves "tenure" at work it had something to do with ten years...

I remember my Dad eating Jelly Deals (what I now know to be "jellied eels"). I had no idea this foodstuff had anything to do with fish. This is less surprising however, when I tell you my Mum used to play tricks on me where food was concerned. She told me ice cream was "frozen custard." I liked custard you see, but didn't like ice cream (funnily enough "frozen custard" was just fine). I had to admit defeat when I finally found out it was Cornish Vanilla all that time. I'm sure you can all think of similar situations to these from your youth.

So when a student delivers one of these misconceptions I am always reminded of my mother giving me "soft roes" on toast (something to do with a "rose", I assumed...) or when she sat me down for "that chat" and I thought sex was as ridiculous as wanting to stick your finger up someone else's nose! Ah, the innocence of childhood...