After 12 years of Labour rule.............

[beorhthelm]

How can you force someone to read an "adult" book like Crime and Punishment? Some people need to take responsibility for themselves and stop blaming schools.

I dont know - im not an educator. why are we "forcing" children to read anything, surely the battle is already lost if approaching from that mindset. schools whole purpose is to educate, if they are failing then i dont see where else the blame lies really. we cant really apply taking responsibilty (which i agree with whole heartedly) as we recognise that children cannot.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I dont know - im not an educator. why are we "forcing" children to read anything, surely the battle is already lost if approaching from that mindset. schools whole purpose is to educate, if they are failing then i dont see where the blame lies really. we cant really apply taking responsibilty (which i agree with whole heartedly) as we recognise that children cannot.

...but parents can and should take responsibility. When you have children you take on huge responsibilities; one of them being their education and instilling a desire to learn. It's not the school's role to force children to learn, but to facilitate it.

 

[beorhthelm]

...but parents can and should take responsibility.

on the other hand we acknowledge that not all parents are capable and so the state provides and enforces compulsary education. seems to me the education system is not taking their responsibilty and blaming shortcomings on parents.

 

[El Presidente]

on the other hand we acknowledge that not all parents are capable and so the state provides and enforces compulsary education. seems to me the education system is not taking their responsibilty and blaming shortcomings on parents.

If children have parents and peers who do not want to read and learn, then it is almost impossible to force the issue in the classroom.

Having taught in primary, secondary and higher education, as well as having two kids myself, I would say that there is a shared responsibility for the welfare and upbringing of the next generation.

There are poor teachers in schools, but that has always been the case. There has also always been a significant proportion of kids who have poor writing skills, some can't even spell 'compulsory' correctly.

This administration will be replaced next year, but to say that it is solely the fault of central government that so many kids can hardly spell is too simplistic IMO.

 

[Stoo82]

As much as I hate this bunch of twats in office. Education or the lack of it goes back much further than 12 years. I was going through some of my old school books from infants school and my spelling was REALLY REALLY crap then. But there would never be more than 3 corrections on each piece of work. So I would never realise it was spelt wrong in the first place.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

As much as I hate this bunch of twats in office. Education or the lack of it goes back much further than 12 years. I was going through some of my old school books from infants school and my spelling was REALLY REALLY crap then. But there would never be more than 3 corrections on each piece of work. So I would never realise it was spelt wrong in the first place.

I think teachers may choose to only correct a few spellings because the alternative would be to correct everything and it could possibly have a negative, demoralising impact for infants if they see their work covered in red writing. Plus it would have been too much information to take in. Using his or her professional judgement, your teacher would probably have chosen to highlight the three corrections it would have been easiest for you to get.

 

[pasty]

I think teachers may choose to only correct a few spellings because the alternative would be to correct everything and it could possibly have a negative, demoralising impact for infants if they see their work covered in red writing.

Aw, diddums. If it's wrong, a child has to be told it's wrong.

 

[The Ringleader]

I don't know if you are taking the piss or not, and I don't mean this nastily, but I understand that perfectly.

When my step-daughter was that age, she was exactly the same. At a parents evening at her school, we saw her English teacher and told her that her spelling, grammer and handwriting were all dreadfull. The teachers response? "Well she has a wonderful grasp of Shakepeare now though, and we don't really worry too much about spelling and grammer nowadays"

Well oh bloody marvellous. Can't write neatly, and can't spell, but understands Shakespeare.

I put the blame entirely down to education authorities allowing school work to be researched on the internet and handed in as a word document. A quick google, copy, paste and spell-check, and hey-presto, it's all done.

At least years ago, when we used to copy stuff faithfully out of an encyclopedia, the process of copying it down and writing it out made some of it go into our brains.

*and relax*

Look through my posts and see what i mean about spelling, its shit (thats why i swear easier to spell ) but my expected GCSE grade is A* and my English cat score is 140

 

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

I blame the parents and the break down of the family unit.

There's little hope for a society that makes it so easy for young people, who are too lazy or stupid to get a job, to have children and let the state pay for them. It's seen as an easy way out for so many young people.

I see how some (not all) young parents behave and think there is no way they should be allowed to contribute to the gene pool. It's like leaving a bag of rubbish in the street; you will often find that once one bag has been left others will get left as well. What I'm trying to say is trash breeds trash. Maybe we should have a 'fit and proper person test' to be allowed to become a parent.

(Before I get slated for promoting some kind of Nazi-esque race purification can I point out that that I am just messing around - but you have to wonder sometimes!)

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Look through my posts and see what i mean about spelling, its shit (thats why i swear easier to spell ) but my expected GCSE grade is A* and my English cat score is 140

Well get off the computer and start learning how to spell!!!!

Spelling is VITAL when you grow up - eg. you can't get a job with a CV which has spelling mistakes splattered all over it, no matter what your grades are. In nursing, just about all our notes are hand written, it makes you look so unprofessional if you can't spell properly - trust me I've seen it!!

 

[The Ringleader]

Well get off the computer and start learning how to spell!!!!

Spelling is VITAL when you grow up - eg. you can't get a job with a CV which has spelling mistakes splattered all over it, no matter what your grades are. In nursing, just about all our notes are hand written, it makes you look so unprofessional if you can't spell properly - trust me I've seen it!!

Its getting better but atm i have to do 4 pieces of English coursework by Wedesday and spell check is a hell of a lot easier that putting effort in :yahoo:

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

Its getting better but atm i have to do 4 pieces of English coursework by Wedesday and spell check is a hell of a lot easier that putting effort in :yahoo:

Anyone say GCSE's are getting easier - we have our example.


nly slightly joking:

 

[The Ringleader]

Anyone say GCSE's are getting easier - we have our example.


nly slightly joking:

i wouldn't say it was easy but it could be harder, but four writen pieces of work that all together equal 40% of our grade and we have to do some of it by hand so yeah if you dont mind i have work to do

 

[skipper734]

i wouldn't say it was easy but it could be harder, but four writen pieces of work that all together equal 40% of our grade and we have to do some of it by hand so yeah if you dont mind i have work to do

I can see at least eight errors in that reply. I have no O or A levels.

 

[Gwylan]

I think teachers may choose to only correct a few spellings because the alternative would be to correct everything and it could possibly have a negative, demoralising impact for infants if they see their work covered in red writing. Plus it would have been too much information to take in. Using his or her professional judgement, your teacher would probably have chosen to highlight the three corrections it would have been easiest for you to get.

I helped an ex-housemate of mine (an English teacher) mark her class's homework once. She stopped me as she found that I was correcting all the spelling mistakes and told me that the policy was not correct errors as it discouraged children.

This was in 1990 or 1991 in a local education authority run by the Tories after about 11 years of Tory government so I'm not sure that Labour can be wholly blamed for the state of literacy.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

Does it not follow that if you read a lot at an early age, your general literacy improves? I like to think my reasonable ability to write, including spelling, grammar etc., is due to reading a lot as a kid and taking it in...

 

[drew]

crap. thats the whole point of schooling and the reason its compulsary is to ensure the means and method of the parents dont hold children back. of course, if parents dont encourage and support learning then they wont excel, but the schools still should be providing minimum standards or we are wasting time and money.

It would be impossible to educate children successfully without any positive input from their family. The problem with the 'headline' statistic is that it provides no comparisons to other ethnic groups nor to any previous period of education. Maybe for the previous 18 years, the figure was 75% of white working class boys aged 14 had a reading age of 7. We don't know but obviously there is a political agenda in the thread.

on the other hand we acknowledge that not all parents are capable and so the state provides and enforces compulsary education. seems to me the education system is not taking their responsibilty and blaming shortcomings on parents.

The state can only do so much. I am assuming you are a parent who reads and talks with your children. If so great. However, whilst I don't think the education system is without it's faults, I would suggest the main reason any child fails at school is due to the lack of positive parental input.

If children have parents and peers who do not want to read and learn, then it is almost impossible to force the issue in the classroom.

Having taught in primary, secondary and higher education, as well as having two kids myself, I would say that there is a shared responsibility for the welfare and upbringing of the next generation.

There are poor teachers in schools, but that has always been the case. There has also always been a significant proportion of kids who have poor writing skills, some can't even spell 'compulsory' correctly.

This administration will be replaced next year, but to say that it is solely the fault of central government that so many kids can hardly spell is too simplistic IMO.

I agree. The problem is, is the State Education system, along with the NHS, going to be a priority for the Tories. I don't think so.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

...is the State Education system, along with the NHS, going to be a priority for the Tories. I don't think so.

I think they will definitely be a priority for the Tories...

The problem will be that they will be taking money out rather than putting it in

 

[El Presidente]

i wouldn't say it was easy but it could be harder, but four writen pieces of work that all together equal 40% of our grade and we have to do some of it by hand so yeah if you dont mind i have work to do

Out of interest, what do you have to do for the other 70%?

 

[drew]

Out of interest, what do you have to do for the other 70%?