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English teacher corrects abusive letter: 'proofreading takes five minutes and keeps you from looking stupid'

Teacher is more concerned about appalling grammar than the abusive profanities littering the letter

Heather Saul
Thursday 10 April 2014 11:45 BST
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A student who penned a poorly written and abusive letter was given a taste of their own medicine when the teacher who received it marked the letter and posted a picture of it reddit
A student who penned a poorly written and abusive letter was given a taste of their own medicine when the teacher who received it marked the letter and posted a picture of it reddit (Reddit)

A student who penned a poorly written and abusive letter was given a taste of their own medicine when a teacher marked it and posted a picture of it covered in red pen online.

The letter, which begins slightly more pleasantly, ends by telling the teacher that despite being "pretty cool" the author will not be completing work for that particular class anymore.

The teacher responds by correcting the clumsy spelling and grammar and advising the student that "proofreading takes five minutes and keeps you from looking stupid" before posting a picture on Reddit, which has since gone viral.

The letter, apparently found pinned on the teacher's door, is littered with grammatical errors and culminates with the emphatic "f*** you and f*** English IV [...] Oh and that essay that you want us to write for wuthering heights f*** that too or any other work you're expecting us to do."

Instead of reporting the abuse contained within the letter, the teacher shows more concern for the student's abuse of the English language.

He or she also objects to the amount of expletives used by reminding the student that "formal writing should not include profanity."

The teacher signs off with: "Please use your education appropriately. Proofreading takes five minutes and keeps you from looking stupid."

Neither the student nor the teacher have been identified, although the letter references the McKinley school. The authenticity of the letter has not been verified.

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