As we watch our child and his friends wander merrily through primary school we seriously doubt the validity of the current Western Australian Education System. To me it seems that our children are being dumbed down. Perhaps partly because of increased class numbers, it appears the class moves forward at the slowest students pace, or, alternatively, the slow ones get left behind to fend for themselves. I know of families that have relocated to other states and have had to put their children back one year because they were behind for their age group.
It seems lots of kids cant spell, do their 1 - 12 times tables, divide or multiply without a calculator and with all this there is no homework.
Children seem to have lost their ability to go outside and invent a game to play that can keep them occupied for hours. They need computers, game boy, X-box etc.
And I can't help but mention their punishments which include "reflection time" and a "time out" room.
Our son is in the public school system, but having met quite a number of children that have come through the Private system I am skeptical that there is that much difference.
If a child comes out of Grade 6 without being able to write moderately well, spell correctly, add and subtract in their head and their idea of discipline is 5 minutes spent staring at the wall......what real chance have they got???
9 comments:
I couldn't agree more!!
Your comments on education are, I believe, well founded.
In an effort to bolster the illiteracy problems, we (Peter Cowan Writers Centre) instituted a youth writing program. Details and brochures were circulated to the high schools and colleges in the area. The first season saw just five students applying. They were enthusiastic and a collective of their short stories was produced in a book for each of them to keep.
The second season had no applicants at all. Once again, faxes were sent, brochures were delivered to Heads of English classes but from comments received since, it appears that no mention of this programme was made to the students.
We have now changed the classes to Wednesdays at 6:00 pm but the class in composed of just one very enthusiastic student.
Should anyone reading this have, or know of a student with an interest in writing (prose or poetry), they can contact us on 93012282 or by email: nwcowan@iinet.net.au
Where do I start?
I am currently in my third year to become a D & T secondary teacher.
Having just finished a four-week teaching practice at MT Lawley high, and having a 16 yr old boy.
Seeing both sides of the story, I have found out. It is not the child’s fault, and it is not the teachers fault.
It is the do gooders in the education system and the do gooders in the political parties that have destroyed our children’s education.
There are no consequences for a child’s actions, except as you say stand and face the wall. (what does that teach a kid.)
For instance with my son, I said to him in yr 9, if you do not do the homework, you will fail and be kept down to repeat yr 9. The system says you cannot keep a child down.
O’dear cannot do that it might hurt his feelings (no consequences). Therefore, the next four years the teachers and I have had fights, over doing some homework.
Why bother he knows he will go up at the end of the year. (No consequences) Therefore, he keeps playing Xbox, him and I fight over it. Now the system says I am not allowed to touch him. He says touch me and I will have you for assault. Therefore, he can do what he likes. (no consequences)
In the teaching practice, I saw the same thing. Kids do not want to do the work; they just want to play games. If you stop them, you are spoiling their fun. (no consequences)
They can tell you to go get f………. I can give them detention. Big deal and now I have to use my time to sit with them and put up with the crap.
Suspend them. Kids go ya hoo more time off. (no consequences) Expel them yea more time off. (no consequences)
Why do you think so many teachers have let the trade, the kids have control.
The other thing is you are not allowed to talk negatively to them. You must talk in a positive way.
“No son you idiot, look before you turn the corner, you nearly hit that person, think”. “Dad you are so negative.”
I found this out teaching you could not tell a kid off. You are to suggest that it was not right in a round the bush method. Does this sink in? I do not think so.
Then when they leave school and a boss gives them a hard time. O’dear cannot handle this. Where is my fluffy cotton wool from school days?
Give me some drugs I need to escape life.
Where are we going, kids have no self-discipline, they do not respect authority.
I know I had smack or two as a kid, from teachers and parents. I did not turn out violent. Same with maybe half the nation.
I could go on and on. But who really cares. Pollies just want to blame everyone else like teachers not doing their job, how can they, if kids don’t have discipline.
(no consequences)
Many people disagree, but I think smacking did work in my day it was instant. You did wrong you were punished on the spot. Not next week when you are doing the detention and as a kid, you have forgotten what you did wrong.
I am no expert but some thing has to be done.
I wholeheartedly agree that the standard of education in schools is inadequate to say the least. As an employer, I have witnessed some appalling job applications. Of the disheartening number of applications I received for the position of storeperson, only one applicant sent in a "written" application as requested (but failed to include a resume), devoid of punctuation or structure. Of the other applications, it is obvious that the "spel chequer" was not working properly, or "SMS" speak was presumed acceptable. (c u L8r).
Some time ago during a power blackout, one staff member was frantically searching for a calculator to work out how much to charge for 10 items at 25 cents each. I doubt that I am the only employer who has come up against this kind of problem.
If this is the standard of education being passed off as "acceptable", then I agree with your question of "what real chance have they got?"
name provided
My son has just turned 4 and started at Montessori a year ago so I don't know how he is in regards to the state school system yet but I certainly hope it improves by the time he goes to one.
I am curious of your discipline techniques if not "time out"? What is wrong, in your view, with "time out"?
Would like to know your response.
name provided
I can’t help but agree on that one.
From my observations of our children going through high school (college) it has become increasingly clear that the main focus of the school is about the ‘school mark’. The achievement of the highest ranking is paramount and no doubt is also linked to personal progression for the staff and administration.
In order to achieve this the school uses mechanisms such as wholly school assessed subjects to cull out potential low percentile TEE results. Those with even less potential are hived off to out of school programs. The ones with even less potential are encouraged to leave school with wildly inaccurate tales about tradesman’s earnings during this period of economic prosperity.
This leaves only the upper echelon of students to sit TEE exams and hence the best chance the school has of achieving a higher ranking.
However the carnage behind the schools ambition is enormous. The education standard of the bottom 60% of students is a rudimentary understanding of numeracy and literary skills coupled with a fact retention base of life sciences that could best be described as general knowledge. They leave school with no idea about where they are heading, not a clue about how to figure out where they should be heading, or what the little they have learnt will be of use. They are low on confidence and self esteem. They will wander around for years until they gravitate into some form of employment.
Of the remaining 40% I would say about half are herded into courses that are easily within their grasp and will sit exam subjects that are almost certain passes. Again a win for the school. The remaining half, or about 2 in every 10 students have some realistic chance of meaningful success going forward.
So how will some kids get up into that top 20%. Hard work? Spend more time at school?
We have given up trying to rationalise the fact that our kids get 6 to 8 weeks off over summer, then a further 3 x 2 week holiday break during the school year. Add to the mix Public Holidays, Easter, sports days, school excursions, school camps, and they are hardy at school, and that’s before including my personal favourite Student Free Days. What exactly is a Student Free Day? This is a joke surely, it’s a tongue in cheek teacher’s day off. Even the students ‘working hours’ are to die for. They start at 9am, have morning recess, lunch and afternoon recess, and finish at 3pm!!! No wonder they don’t learn much, there hardly ever there and when they are there they are hardly ever in class.
You were correct about private schools. We have several friends who for a serious amount of money put their kids through private school. Some have done well, some came out illiterate snobs with a very over inflated sense of self worth, and some got to year 10 or 11 and were expelled or left. I would say the actual success rate there is about 3 in 10.
If you think I’m teacher bashing then you are wrong. My mother was a teacher and I can vouch that she was one of the hardest working people I have ever known. She was forever reworking lessons or marking papers. She worked after school with those who needed more help. She used to spend the holidays tutoring students and attending advancement courses at UWA. I have met quite a few of her ex pupils and was pleased to learn they had done well and credited her for some of their learning and her always positive encouragement and direction.
Our governments need to inform the Education Dept. that exam results are not akin to faction day at primary school. It should not be a competition among schools. We want our kids to be the winners. I am not remotely interested in which establishment won top school three years in a row.
As a last point I can tell you that the people I employ in our business gain employment from their qualifications and proven ability. I never have and never will employ anyone on the basis of what school they attended or what colour blazer they wore.
It was great to hear your comments.
Would agree - our children left primary school with poor literacy skills. The school (private boys school) which one attended since year 5 took no responsibility for child’s lack of progress.
Our experience is the skill of teaching literacy skills has been lost. Our kids would have benefited from learning how to write sentences and spell in primary school, and in secondary school how to pull your thoughts together and write essays in a step by step way. Our boys are maths/science oriented and very late developers in literacy skills – the private boys school seemed unable and uninterested in catering for their learning needs in English.
The oldest boy is now in 1st year Engineering. At UWA in Engineering faculty they hold specific tutorials for students with poor English skills. Needless to say my son is in that tutorial and finding it great. He says he wished he had this kind of help at school.
For us in the senior years the maths and science program has been great so at least our boys have flourished in something.
Our frustration has been the lack of interest or expertise by teachers in assisting our boys in the English area.
name provided
Couldn't agree more with your dumbing down thoughts. It's such a shame that education is now seen as just something to have to get through before "real life" begins. What's wrong with teaching kids to love reading, to spend some time playing with jigsaw puzzles and drawing on their own little blackboard instead of having computer graphics doing the drawing for them? My son watches a fair bit of TV (he's nearly 3) in that the television is on for most of the day in the other room, but most often when I go in there he's playing with his puzzles or "reading" books that I leave in there for him too. He's usually out following me around whilst I do chores, especially in the garden as he just loves it. He's not allowed to watch TV in the morning until after he's fed and dressed (in preparation for avoiding the inevitable fights that mums seem to have getting their kids ready for school!) and we usually spend one half of the day out of the house doing outside things anyway. My view is that TV is fine unless they would RATHER be watching it instead of doing something else. The day he doesn't want to do something outside or with his parents playing in favour of watching the idiot box is the day I reconsider his access to it. I don't believe in total denial of anything as it only creates a fascination for the object or activity being denied, especially in curious youngsters.
As for discipline, don't start me on that one! Geez, you'd think we were the first generation to invent it with all this Dr Phil and Supernanny rubbish, although they do have some merit in the fact that they actually endorse disciplining the child instead of all of this "stifling a child's creativity" rubbish if you tell them "no". Kids need rules, kids need routine and kids need love. That's about it I reckon apart from food and shelter! If a child has these things they have the security, the stability and the confidence to explore things as they know their boundaries and they know the consequences if they cross them. Nothing unsettles a kid more than not knowing what's going on, who's the boss or where they are allowed to go or not, and you add fuel to the fire when one day they are allowed to do something and the next day they aren't for no apparent reason (to them). No wonder they're confused and act up, we would too. I think as usual we have taken a very simple concept and analysed the crap out of it and come up with some convoluted theories and practices which basically just replace common sense and simplicity (much like our diet mentality, but I won't go there yet either!). Keep it simple is the main thing with kids. Lots of love, lots of attention, lots of "good" food and exercise, and lots of discipline when it comes to certain issues ie: their safety, manners in public and respect for self and others. All the other stuff can be negotiated along the way I reckon. I think it's working for us, but they aren't teenagers yet!!! Bring it on I say!
name provided
I believe that because we allowed left-wing pinko liberalism to foist OBE on us until common sense threw it out, we now have a whole "lost generation" of under educated children.
It was bad enough when I was working in the University system, as even some 10 years ago, we had so-called "graduates" of year 12, who supposedly had passed the TEE, with sufficient points level for a tertiary education, and yet we had to put them into remedial English courses as they were incapable of stringing coherent sentences together.
(The same thing applied in many cases to the level of Maths).
Standards appear to have gone downhill from there with the latest trendy educational fads having contributed in no small fashion to the demise of even half way decent educational standards.
The future does not exactly fill me confidence as this generation passes into the workforce.
name provided
Post a Comment