Parenting

“Whose Idea Was This Word?”—Mom Goes Viral Ranting About Sight Words On Instagram

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, parents are getting real about homeschooling their children. And one mother in particular has gone viral for her incredibly understandable breakdown over teaching her kids to pronounce sight words like “know” and “two.” 

Comedian and mom Tiffany Jenkins, who runs the blog “Juggling the Jenkins,” shared her struggle on Instagram. In a video of herself trying to teach her kindergartner that certain words have silent letters, she revealed her frustration. 

“I’m not trying to be dramatic, but if sight words had a face, I would punch it,” 35-year-old Jenkins said in the clip, which has been viewed more than 893,000 times. 

Tackling the world “know,” which has a silent “k” and “w,” Jenkins unleashed her anger at the English language. 

“Whose idea was this word? Here’s me trying to explain this word to my kid who’s sounding it out. Great job, love that, um, the problem is, see this ‘k’ in the front? It doesn’t exist. Just pretend it’s not there. That ‘w’ on the end? Pff! Gone. Who needs it, right?” Jenkins exclaims.

“So you just ignore the first and last letters, just pretend like they’re not there, and just say the two middle ones ‘no.’ Do you know what I mean? Me neither.” 

Jenkins continued her rant, explaining how absurd it was trying to teach her kids to pronounce the word “one.” 

“Kids are just supposed to know that this ‘o’ sounds like a ‘w’? I don’t think so. I sound like a lunatic trying to explain these words to my kids.” 

Similarly, she was angry about the words “ate” and “eight,” saying, “This word and this word? They make the same exact sound. Even though they look like completely different motherf***ing words, they make the same sound.” 

At the end of the video, the comedian gave a huge thank you to all the teachers out there: 

“Shout out to all the teachers, OK?” she said. “Because I can’t friggin’ do this.” 

In an interview on Good Morning America, Jenkins explained that the video had success because parents all across the country are experiencing the same struggles. 

“Everyone who watched it said it was super relatable and they were going through the same thing,” she said.

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Patricia Grisafi

Patricia Grisafi, PhD, is a freelance writer and educator. Her work has appeared in Salon, Vice, Bitch, Bustle, Broadly, The Establishment, and elsewhere. She is passionate about pit bull rescue, cursed objects, and designer sunglasses.