Correcting Other People
Correcting other people is when you tell someone that they have made a mistake.
It is mostly not OK to correct someone. This is because many people think it is bad manners to do so, unless it something very important.
It is only OK to correct someone for a good reason:
you are working together with someone and the mistake is part of the work
if you didn't tell the person about the mistake it would cause a big problem for them
to help avoid something bad from happening
If you correct someone for a mistake that is not important they can get upset or cross with you.
It can be OK to correct someone if you know it is really important for them to know about the mistake. At all other times it is best not to correct them. If you are unsure it is best not to correct.
Correcting The Teacher
Correcting the teacher is when you tell your teacher that they have made a mistake.
Everyone makes mistakes including teachers. Sometimes teachers are happy for you to tell them they have made a mistake. Sometimes they are not. This can be confusing. There are lots of reasons why a teacher might not want you to correct them:
the mistake is not important at that moment
the teacher might be doing something else
the teacher might be talking and not want to be interrupted
the teacher might have made a mistake for a reason
Many people, including teachers do not like to be corrected. It can be considered rude to do so and people will be annoyed with you. Correcting the teacher a lot can make them very upset or cross with you.
It can be OK to correct the teacher if they want you to do that. At all other times it is best not to correct them. If you are unsure it is best not to correct.
Notes on creating your own personalised social story:
Use the above examples to create your own personalised social story for the child. If you need to modify the language to support younger children ensure that the exact meaning intended remains clear and unambiguous. You may want to add photographs or pictures to illustrate the meaning or provide motivation to use.
Alternatively, print out versions of the social stories are available below.