SillyBilly Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 We have a fantastic schooling system, the envy of the world. Just in the last few weeks, in the run-up to a national election, we've heard of a revolutionary strategy to get kids to be able to do their times tables by age 11 and an ambitious plan to get England, the home of the English language, to top 5 in the world for English no less! We can achieve these aims through "free schools" where anybody can run a school if they wish, by an ever increasing number of faith schools that deliver 15th century science and exam boards that compete amongst themselves to give the highest marks (increasing their appeal to schools who are obssessed with the illustrious national league table). Also, owing to the sheer intelligence of our pupils relative to the rest of the world, we actually had to invent a new grade. This was an A** - when everybody gets As some still need to stand out afterall (sure you understand) - ofcourse we could have made the exams harder but that might affect the ability of students to go to our top polytechnics. Infact, because we can, we might turn the whole system on its head and do away with A-U grades and come up with a new numbering system (1-8), if of no benefit educationally it'll surely provide a few jobs in its implementation and administration in the public sector. Besides, we like to keep industry guessing what grades mean and who needs benchmarking when we're all Einsteins. Highlights of the last couple of years include half of Birmingham's schools coming top in the preaching of hate worldwide, pipping Islamabad to the post and we set a world record where in one classroom 28 languages were spoken. Classroom sizes are increasing; we couldn't control class sizes of 30 so figured it couldn't hurt adding a few more to the mix, saves money anyhow. Teachers don't last more than 5 years in the role on average but because they're all **** and know f**k all about education its better they leave the profession as our government knows best. We really encourage teachers to focus more on lesson planning, filling out diversity forms for the class, fulfilling their obligations to social services, reporting potential terrorists, avoiding getting stabbed and meeting all paperwork obligations, if they still have the energy to deliver effective teaching after this then that is an added bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Extending the school day so homework can get done sounds like a great idea. That too making time for teachers to do their own work. But it would end up being teachers spending time supervising pupils and helping (because that's what we do) the kids with their work. The teachers would then still have to do their work outside of that time. I read a comment from the Liberals. They want to reduce unnecessary tasks teachers currently do to let them spend more time in the classroom. As it stands most teachers only get 3 or 4 non teaching periods a week. That's just over three hours to Mark (up to 240 books) plan lessons and carry out other essential tasks necessary to do the job properly. Fantastic insight and reply dav, thanks. Similar issues in the States in regards to some if the things you talked about.I have worked with schools over past few years in regards to literacy classes at libraries in said schools and tutoring also.Teachers imo just do not get a fair share of the tools they really need to help their students. Yes a lot of that is to due with funding,but from my experience,also to due with putting money into other areas of school first(Gymnasium,locker rooms,etc.).That is all well and good,but more intuitive teaching tools need to be addressed first. They do have 5th period in most schools in NC which is an extra 30 minutes after regular school hours are over with for any students who want to stay,but only for grades 6-12 and not below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 We have a fantastic schooling system, the envy of the world. Just in the last few weeks, in the run-up to a national election, we've heard of a revolutionary strategy to get kids to be able to do their times tables by age 11 and an ambitious plan to get England, the home of the English language, to top 5 in the world for English no less! We can achieve these aims through "free schools" where anybody can run a school if they wish, by an ever increasing number of faith schools that deliver 15th century science and exam boards that compete amongst themselves to give the highest marks (increasing their appeal to schools who are obssessed with the illustrious national league table). Also, owing to the sheer intelligence of our pupils relative to the rest of the world, we actually had to invent a new grade. This was an A** - when everybody gets As some still need to stand out afterall (sure you understand) - ofcourse we could have made the exams harder but that might affect the ability of students to go to our top polytechnics. Infact, because we can, we might turn the whole system on its head and do away with A-U grades and come up with a new numbering system (1-8), if of no benefit educationally it'll surely provide a few jobs in its implementation and administration in the public sector. Besides, we like to keep industry guessing what grades mean and who needs benchmarking when we're all Einsteins. Highlights of the last couple of years include half of Birmingham's schools coming top in the preaching of hate worldwide, pipping Islamabad to the post and we set a world record where in one classroom 28 languages were spoken. Classroom sizes are increasing; we couldn't control class sizes of 30 so figured it couldn't hurt adding a few more to the mix, saves money anyhow. Teachers don't last more than 5 years in the role on average but because they're all **** and know f**k all about education its better they leave the profession as our government knows best. We really encourage teachers to focus more on lesson planning, filling out diversity forms for the class, fulfilling their obligations to social services, reporting potential terrorists, avoiding getting stabbed and meeting all paperwork obligations, if they still have the energy to deliver effective teaching after this then that is an added bonus. A nice satirical commentary. Although you hint the focus on lesson planning is bad. I disagree. Without planning lessons will not provide opportunity to progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 We have a fantastic schooling system, the envy of the world. Just in the last few weeks, in the run-up to a national election, we've heard of a revolutionary strategy to get kids to be able to do their times tables by age 11 and an ambitious plan to get England, the home of the English language, to top 5 in the world for English no less! We can achieve these aims through "free schools" where anybody can run a school if they wish, by an ever increasing number of faith schools that deliver 15th century science and exam boards that compete amongst themselves to give the highest marks (increasing their appeal to schools who are obssessed with the illustrious national league table). Also, owing to the sheer intelligence of our pupils relative to the rest of the world, we actually had to invent a new grade. This was an A** - when everybody gets As some still need to stand out afterall (sure you understand) - ofcourse we could have made the exams harder but that might affect the ability of students to go to our top polytechnics. Infact, because we can, we might turn the whole system on its head and do away with A-U grades and come up with a new numbering system (1-8), if of no benefit educationally it'll surely provide a few jobs in its implementation and administration in the public sector. Besides, we like to keep industry guessing what grades mean and who needs benchmarking when we're all Einsteins. Highlights of the last couple of years include half of Birmingham's schools coming top in the preaching of hate worldwide, pipping Islamabad to the post and we set a world record where in one classroom 28 languages were spoken. Classroom sizes are increasing; we couldn't control class sizes of 30 so figured it couldn't hurt adding a few more to the mix, saves money anyhow. Teachers don't last more than 5 years in the role on average but because they're all **** and know f**k all about education its better they leave the profession as our government knows best. We really encourage teachers to focus more on lesson planning, filling out diversity forms for the class, fulfilling their obligations to social services, reporting potential terrorists, avoiding getting stabbed and meeting all paperwork obligations, if they still have an energy to deliver effective teaching after this then that is an added bonus. Yes I must admit some aspects about UK school system I envy in regards to the States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyBilly Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 FWIW I think teachers are chronically underpaid. I earn a multiple of my sisters who both teach and I could not do their job nor would I want to. Makes me quite angry when I hear that teachers, on the front line, are being villified for "falling" standards, often from people who have no knowledge of the profession themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyBilly Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 A nice satirical commentary. Although you hint the focus on lesson planning is bad. I disagree. Without planning lessons will not provide opportunity to progress. Fairplay Dav. My sister commented that the place where she works, she has to plan the lesson down to the questions she asks and it is getting out of control i.e. less and less room for the teacher to put their "stamp" on the classroom. Something I have always felt is beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SillyBilly Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Yes I must admit some aspects about UK school system I envy in regards to the States. AR, I trust you know I was being sarcastic! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 AR, I trust you know I was being sarcastic! . I expected as much pal.But in all seriousness,UK system is better than US imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-Ram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Garbage.Garbage. Ok, I will qualify. Principally at University (proper Universities mind you) there are some very clever and able educators. There are also some 25% of good secondary and primary teachers (IMO). The majority though are careerist liberal or socialist child carers more interested in their pension, and filling kids full of political propaganda. Hence why as a Country we lag somewhere near the 20th mark in Worldwide tables in terms of educational standards. Bloody disgrace really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Ok, I will qualify. Principally at University (proper Universities mind you) there are some very clever and able educators. There are also some 25% of good secondary and primary teachers (IMO). The majority though are careerist liberal or socialist child carers more interested in their pension, and filling kids full of political propaganda. Hence why as a Country we lag somewhere near the 20th mark in Worldwide tables in terms of educational standards. Bloody disgrace really. How many lessons have you observed? How many teachers have you spoken to? How many pupils have you spoken too? I only ask so I can understand how valid your opinion is. After all I have no idea what you do for a living and all that Jazz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Fairplay Dav. My sister commented that the place where she works, she has to plan the lesson down to the questions she asks and it is getting out of control i.e. less and less room for the teacher to put their "stamp" on the classroom. Something I have always felt is beneficial. Obviously some schools take it to the extreme. I dint have to write plans etc... But I do plan questions, or question themes, and encourage the kids to ask their own questions and answer each others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Ok, I will qualify. Principally at University (proper Universities mind you) there are some very clever and able educators. There are also some 25% of good secondary and primary teachers (IMO). The majority though are careerist liberal or socialist child carers more interested in their pension, and filling kids full of political propaganda. Hence why as a Country we lag somewhere near the 20th mark in Worldwide tables in terms of educational standards. Bloody disgrace really. UK in latest World Education Index Rankings in Jan 2014 as done by Pearson(Take into account literacy and graduation rates,math,cognition,etc.) and UK was ranked 6th whereas US was ranked 14th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-Ram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 How many lessons have you observed? How many teachers have you spoken to? How many pupils have you spoken too? I only ask so I can understand how valid your opinion is. After all I have no idea what you do for a living and all that Jazz. Not sure what I have to do for a living is material. Are you saying if I was a dustman or a road sweeper that my opinion is any less valid than yours? In answer to your first question, let's convert this to football. How many games have I watched, how many managers, players, fans, have I spoken to? Not sure in truth, but league tables generally are a good measure of overall performance. In that respectin theUkprimary and secondary education system we are failing massively. Comes back to my initial point, that most teachers (and for that matter most politicians) come out of the education system and then without ever doing a days proper work, start trying to influence our lives. Most fail because they are no better than averagely educated, and have no life experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Not sure what I have to do for a living is material. Are you saying if I was a dustman or a road sweeper that my opinion is any less valid than yours? In answer to your first question, let's convert this to football. How many games have I watched, how many managers, players, fans, have I spoken to? Not sure in truth, but league tables generally are a good measure of overall performance. In that respectin theUkprimary and secondary education system we are failing massively. Comes back to my initial point, that most teachers (and for that matter most politicians) come out of the education system and then without ever doing a days proper work, start trying to influence our lives. Most fail because they are no better than averagely educated, and have no life experience. But league tables don't tell the whole story. If a manager takes a team from near relegation to just outside the top 6 is he good? There used to be a valued added measure which showed progress from starting point to end point at secondary school. This isnt headline figures anymore. When grade boundaries move to stop too many getting Grade C then is that a fair measure to judge on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-Ram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Dav. I acknowledge your points, and based on this thread I can tell you are a passionate and engaged teacher focused on educating "our" kids. If that is the case, I wish there were a good few more lke you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Dav. I acknowledge your points, and based on this thread I can tell you are a passionate and engaged teacher focused on educating "our" kids. If that is the case, I wish there were a good few more lke you. I acknowledge your points too. And through speaking to other teachers with long careers there have been vast improvements in the quality of teaching, and attitude of teachers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 I acknowledge your points too. And through speaking to other teachers with long careers there have been vast improvements in the quality of teaching, and attitude of teachers. That is very good dav.Even though I do not teach in a classroom persay,I do teach many children how to read and write accordingly and other areas also. I love doing so and am passionate.To see a student of mine have success with a particular problem,issue,etc gives me great joy;I know you feel the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenportram Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 That is very good dav.Even though I do not teach in a classroom persay,I do teach many children how to read and write accordingly and other areas also. I love doing so and am passionate.To see a student of mine have success with a particular problem,issue,etc gives me great joy;I know you feel the same. It's as much of a success seeing a pupil improve their social, communication and coping skills as it is seeing a pupil get a grade A Education isn't just about grades. It's about preparing young children for life after school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 It's as much of a success seeing a pupil improve their social, communication and coping skills as it is seeing a pupil get a grade A Education isn't just about grades. It's about preparing young children for life after school. I agree with that.Improving their psychosocial skills is also prudent yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanRam Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' -Nelson Mandela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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