“This is so sad”: Mom points out error on 5-year-old’s grammar homework. Teachers rush to defend it
A mom’s attempt to poke fun at a typo on her five-year-old’s first homework assignment didn’t go the way she expected.
After sharing a photo of a small grammatical error on TikTok, the post quickly shifted from lighthearted commentary to a broader discussion about teacher burnout and how much unpaid labor educators take home with them.
@riversideredhead’s clip from Dec. 8, 2025, zoomed in on the small error (an errant “s” after the word “it” was changed from a contraction to separate words) paired with onscreen text, “The homework out five year old came home with ????♀️.”
The pre-k assignment was printed on a slip of paper that read: Please can you help your child to be able to read these red (tricky) words. Its is their challenge for the weekend!” Beneath the message is a list of basic sight words, including “the,” “I,” “he,” “she,” “is,” and “to.”
A top comment pointed out the teacher, who likely typed up the assignment in a rush, does their best for her five-year-old—and 29 other children—every day.
"This is so sad. I can guarantee that this teacher goes above and beyond everyday for your child (and 29 other children) Unfortunately this was probably typed up in a rush, late at night or early in the morning because our workload is crazy! God forbid a busy teacher makes a mistake," wrote another teacher under the video.
The offending pre-k assignment racked up nearly 180,000 views on TikTok and nearly 300 comments, many of a similar sentiment.
“Ok fair enough a simple error. Do you know how stressed teachers are?" reads one.
“Do you have any idea how busy teachers are this time of year, this is clearly a typo as they were probably rushing, doing 15 jobs at once,” another.
“Quick typo... nothing to do with grammar skills ????.”
“God sends his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. Hope you manage to recover from receiving something with a typo because it must be super traumatic xxx.”
The majority of teachers work off the clock just to keep up
According to 2024 data from the Pew Research Center, U.S. teachers are under pressure to meet demands they’re incapable of achieving within a regular school day.
Nearly eight out of 10 teachers reported their workday doesn’t allow enough time for tasks like grading, lesson planning, paperwork and correspondence. This means teachers are routinely working off the clock just to keep up.
The majority of teachers polled felt the job is stressful, overwhelming, and, at times, incompatible with healthy work-life balance. Systemic issues like staffing shortages and low-income communities with overworked parents compound these issues for teachers—and there you have it, a minor typo on your kid’s grammar homework. Not sorry about it!
@riversideredhead First piece of reception homework ????♀️???? ##homework##teacherfail##parenting##grammar##school ♬ sonido original - Taci Méndez
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