Present and Future of Education

[uttoxram75]

'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.'

-Nelson Mandela

That is exactly why most of the western world leaders don't want us to have a good one.

[Oxram]

David Cameron has said he wants schools to go back to teaching Imperial units.

<Rant>
Who wouldn't love needing a conversion table to tell you one cubic foot of water weighs 62.42796 Ib. (had to look that up)
Much easier than knowing 1000 litres takes up 1 cubic meter and weighs 1000 kg... that stuff is tricky.

Next up is a move back to Fahrenheit because all the kids keep forgetting that -17.7C is 0F and all their brine is going to freeze!!!

We have had nearly 40 years of metric, Imperial is literally dying out and now we are pushing it again!?  Who cares that if you order a pint you are given 568ml. The swap to metric now means you can say Imperial units as slang and nobody takes it literally. Pint means beer, Miles means further than you could think of and a Ton is heavier than you could ever imagine. How are we supposed to exaggerate it if all becomes literal again!

Above all though I refuse to swap the Sir Isaac Newton for a 'Pound.Foot'!
I

[Tombo]

The one thing I believe is that exams are a total waste of time past 13/14. By that point the exams ask you to write a bloody essay anyway, only this time under the pressure of the clock where there's no time to think. And you don't sit in the exam and use your own thoughts and ideas, you sit there thinking "what was it my teachers told me to write?" Because they just teach you how to pass the exam. Schoolkids need to be encouraged to think for themselves, otherwise we're just spending over a decade giving the kids a good memory.

 

"I haven't got any idea how to deal with real life problems or think for myself but I can remember Pythagoras".

 

So many smart kids end up becoming useless adults (me included! ) because we're not preparing them for the world at all. Young people wait around to be told what to do rather than trying to work it out for themselves, because that's what their teachers have done for them since the age of 4.

[davenportram]

Imperial units during out?

Road signs and distances given in miles.

Speeds generally in mph

Fuel consumption in mpg

Some kids think you can get to London in half an hour from Nottingham.

They have no knowledge of how far a mile is.

[ladyram]

In some cases, you're right Tombo but not all the time. There are some well balanced, grounded and sensible students who are managing quite well since leaving.

[Day]

Daveo's Rough Guide to Fixing Education

 

1) Education needs to be split into basic education and advanced education, basic education 9am - 3pm which is compulsory for all kids and advanced education which runs from 3pm - 6pm and is optional. However you can be removed from advanced if you disrupt lessons or falling behind on basic education.

 

Basic Education - Maths, English, Science, Physical Education, Life Skills, IT, Cooking and DIY

 

English is now focused on reading, spelling, grammar and writing. No more Shakespeare, writing pages on pages of why Romeo loves Juliet.  

 

Physical education will now be daily for obvious reasons.

 

Life skills will be lessons on applying for jobs, mock job interviews, opening and managing bank accounts.

 

DIY replaces woodwork, now kids will learn how to paint, plaster, wire a plug, change a fuse

 

IT is no longer a choice, all kids leaving school should be able to use Word, Excel and how to use the internet to gather information and visit football forums.

 

Advanced Education - French, German, Geography, History, Art, Textiles

 

Kids will have a choice of picking one or all 6, completely optional and they can quit at any time. 

 

2) Removing Religious Education from schools. Religion is fictional characters that create problems world wide, the sooner religion is wiped out the better this world will be. 

 

3) No more homework, kids need downtime as well. All work should be completed in school.

 

4) Parent evenings every 6 weeks for progress reports. On the 6th week you can book an appointment Mon-Fri 6-9pm. Non attendance results in a fine from the government which if on benefits will be deducted automatically.

 

5) No passes to leave school at dinner, they must remain on campus where healthy food will be served.

 

6) Detentions are moved to Saturday's and accompanied by a parent/guardian

 

7) Classes are separated by those that are willing to work and those that are not.  

 

8) 6 week holiday is split into 3 weeks work experience and 3 weeks off, this applies to all kids from year 7 to 11. If companies wish to make this paid work they can. It is compulsory and non attendance is the same as missing school.

 

9) On leaving school there is a national database with a report card which includes all grades, attendance records and brief reports from all work experience employers. Companies will pay to access this database with the money going to pay for rewards which I will talk about next.

 

10) Rewards are given at the end of each school term, they are given if the student has a 100% attendance and disciplinary record. Rewards are money off vouchers to be used for computers/tablets making them more affordable for parents to buy.

 

11) After school has been completed there is a one year gap between leaving school and going on to university unless you have a work placement agreed if you attend a university course that offers a qualification for the job. These are paid work placements and no student loans will be available.

[ladyram]

I like the sound of some of them ideas Daveo but a parent's evening every 6 weeks just isn't practical for teachers, they'd be forever writing reports and little else.

And imo as a parent, a bit repetative in repeating the same thing they told us last time in terms of where our lad is with progress. We don't need excessive parents evenings.

Of course, if any parent or carer has any worries or queries, they can get onto the school and speak to Form Tutor, Head of Year, or Pastoral, there's always help available.

And some schools do have financial rewards for students. Right or wrong, money can be a great motivator, don't know why more schools don't do it.

Love number 6 but it'd never be implemented.

[Day]

A lot of teachers time would be freed up with no homework to mark surely? The thinking of regular parents evenings to keep them on their toes. I remember when I was at school being a little **** I never thought about parents evenings as it was one a year, every 6 weeks if I was in for a spanking it may have helped keep me on track.

[Mostyn6]

Daveo, how would you resolve education from the angle of teaching, classroom sizes, budgetary priorities, league tables, exam standards, violence, bullying, social service interaction etc?

[Day]

I'd leave all that to my assistant to handle

[uttoxram75]

Daveo, how would you resolve education from the angle of teaching, classroom sizes, budgetary priorities, league tables, exam standards, violence, bullying, social service interaction etc?

Easy-peasy!

 

just get the rich to pay tax and we'd be able to afford more and better trained teachers.

 

Next!

[AmericanRam]

Daveo's Rough Guide to Fixing Education

1) Education needs to be split into basic education and advanced education, basic education 9am - 3pm which is compulsory for all kids and advanced education which runs from 3pm - 6pm and is optional. However you can be removed from advanced if you disrupt lessons or falling behind on basic education.

Basic Education - Maths, English, Science, Physical Education, Life Skills, IT, Cooking and DIY

English is now focused on reading, spelling, grammar and writing. No more Shakespeare, writing pages on pages of why Romeo loves Juliet.

Physical education will now be daily for obvious reasons.

Life skills will be lessons on applying for jobs, mock job interviews, opening and managing bank accounts.

DIY replaces woodwork, now kids will learn how to paint, plaster, wire a plug, change a fuse

IT is no longer a choice, all kids leaving school should be able to use Word, Excel and how to use the internet to gather information and visit football forums.

Advanced Education - French, German, Geography, History, Art, Textiles

Kids will have a choice of picking one or all 6, completely optional and they can quit at any time.

2) Removing Religious Education from schools. Religion is fictional characters that create problems world wide, the sooner religion is wiped out the better this world will be.

3) No more homework, kids need downtime as well. All work should be completed in school.

4) Parent evenings every 6 weeks for progress reports. On the 6th week you can book an appointment Mon-Fri 6-9pm. Non attendance results in a fine from the government which if on benefits will be deducted automatically.

5) No passes to leave school at dinner, they must remain on campus where healthy food will be served.

6) Detentions are moved to Saturday's and accompanied by a parent/guardian

7) Classes are separated by those that are willing to work and those that are not.

8) 6 week holiday is split into 3 weeks work experience and 3 weeks off, this applies to all kids from year 7 to 11. If companies wish to make this paid work they can. It is compulsory and non attendance is the same as missing school.

9) On leaving school there is a national database with a report card which includes all grades, attendance records and brief reports from all work experience employers. Companies will pay to access this database with the money going to pay for rewards which I will talk about next.

10) Rewards are given at the end of each school term, they are given if the student has a 100% attendance and disciplinary record. Rewards are money off vouchers to be used for computers/tablets making them more affordable for parents to buy.

11) After school has been completed there is a one year gap between leaving school and going on to university unless you have a work placement agreed if you attend a university course that offers a qualification for the job. These are paid work placements and no student loans will be available.

Thank You Daveo for your reply.

Student loans are a huge problem here in the States,leaving many in debt.I myself will probably still be paying off mine ten years from now.

Thanks again pal.

[AmericanRam]

Also Daveo kids learning the basics of computers is quite important also as you said and Microsoft Office.

I do wish more technology was used in US classrooms.

[davenportram]

A lot of teachers time would be freed up with no homework to mark surely? The thinking of regular parents evenings to keep them on their toes. I remember when I was at school being a little **** I never thought about parents evenings as it was one a year, every 6 weeks if I was in for a spanking it may have helped keep me on track.

That os true but if a teacher has 8 classes of between 20 and thirty kids that's 160-240 reports. At a minimum of 5 mins per report that's 800-1200 minutes or upto 20 hours writing reports. (or an hour a day for four weeks)

Plus the same amount spent talking to parents at the parents evening.

That's on top of your idea for advanced education until 6pm at night.

[Wolfie]

I bet the NUT members will be falling over themselves to volunteer for Saturday detention supervision duties.

[davenportram]

I bet the NUT members will be falling over themselves to volunteer for Saturday detention supervision duties.

Why just limit that to union members? Or do you honestly think its just unionists that wouldn't volunteer?

[Wolfie]

Why just limit that to union members? Or do you honestly think its just unionists that wouldn't volunteer?

 

Nobody would volunteer but, as the biggest and most militant of the teaching unions, the NUT would absolutely hate it.

Not bashing trade unions, just stating a fact.

[davenportram]

I think most unions in any industry would hate such a massive change

[AmericanRam]

 

Over 35 million adults in the US cannot read,and a large amount amount cannot read or write;these figures totally depress and irritate me everyday upon thinking on them.

As part of the National Coalition for Literacy,I endeavor to raise awareness as much as I can in my designated areas; I have done so through workshops, and tutoring but I still think more needs to be done.

These large,unsettling literacy numbers can be helped imo by putting some new initiatives and importance in regards to literacy at a younger age.

I love teaching others how to read and write or both and intend to forever do so.Raising literacy awareness is not as easy as one might think,but I intend to persevere and see that the amount of illiteracy in the US is lowered as much as I possibly can with help from others and especially the NCL.

I have a literacy workshop set up in Des Moines tomorrow,hope goes well.

Literacy rate in UK is way better than US.With that being said,any changes need to be made  to help with it?

In order for the future of education to be great for all,literacy is of course a top priority to ensure that.

 

[davenportram]

I have taught kids that don't know how to spell numbers. So when they get questions with numbers written in words they cant answer them because they don't know what they mean.

 

 

eg Michael has fifteen bags of crisps to share between five friends. How many bags do they get each