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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that "literacy" and "numeracy" as school subjects sounds utterly naff, ignorant and illiterate?

56 replies

GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:10

talk about "committee thinking". WHOSE stupid idea was it to change "English" and "Maths" to "literacy" and "numeracy"? They aren't subjects or lesson titles fgs. It sounds crap.

AIBUIYO?

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Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:57

almost as vomitworthy as "Domestic Science"

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TinyGang · 09/07/2007 11:54

I rememebr when 'cookery' became 'Home Economics' .

Anyway, for me it involed the most stomach turning cheese mornay which I never understood or had occasion the make again. Whatever subject it came under, I was still rubbish at it.

Hmmm..Maybe the second subject just showed you how to make the same things more economically

I don't question any new fangled stuff too much these days. I still call the one in charge the Head Mistress, which either sounds terribly old fashioned or like someone involve in bondage role-play. I keep being told it's Head Teacher.

hatrickjacqueline · 09/07/2007 11:48

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Eowyn · 09/07/2007 11:48

my problem with dd coming home & telling me she did numeracy (I should prob be grateful for being told she did anything) is that the word means nothing to her. I unwisely said, "oh, maths" to be griped away at, changed it to "number work?" to be told numeracy had nothing to do with numbers (she is 7 & therefore knows more than me about everything).

Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:46

mmmmm

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ahundredtimes · 09/07/2007 11:46

They ARE NOT expressive in the least. They are extemely vague and silly. Though mostly I don't think it matters all that much what they're called - greeny's sensitivities aside - it's all just the usual stuff at the end of the day.

Except now, obviously, it has a GOAL at the end of it. Infact Hatrick, your name is perfect!

hatrickjacqueline · 09/07/2007 11:46

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Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:44

Nothingl ike a bit of passive aggression to take the place of reasoned discourse!

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hatrickjacqueline · 09/07/2007 11:43

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Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:43

Calm down hatrick, I'm not attacking your whole philosophy/credibility/professional expertise, I'm just taking issue with THIS statement: "our education system and it's teachers are in the wrong whatever they do" - because it devalues the few criticisms I make as a parent, by lumping me in with all other parents as a general dissatisfied impossible whinger! Which I'm not - I think ds's teachers are great.

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choosyfloosy · 09/07/2007 11:42

Rhetoric and oratory anyone?

I think literacy and numeracy are fine, and a lot more expressive than 'English' and 'Maths'.

MaureenMLove · 09/07/2007 11:41

Ours do something called Big writing too. What's all that about? Everytime dd tells me she's done big writing, I imagine a huge book with very big letters in it! Its handwriting practice I think or it could be story writing possibly!

hatrickjacqueline · 09/07/2007 11:40

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Bartholomewgook · 09/07/2007 11:39

Yes, they are blardy awful and in my house we refer to them as 'maths', 'reading', 'spelling', 'writing' etc.

Stupid poncey words get on my nerves.

The world has gone stark raving mad imo.

hana · 09/07/2007 11:38

these names aren't new - they were introduced in the 90s

give it a few more years, different gov't and the names will go back to English and Math

Anna8888 · 09/07/2007 11:37

Literary - awful word.

Why can't we use plain English - spelling, writing, reading, grammar, story-writing etc?

Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:35

that's hogwash hatrick, I think the world of ds1's teachers so far, they are fantastic and I owe them a huge debt. And I like the teacher he's having next year too, and am massively impressed with the school.

BUT this literacy an numeracy thing is gut-lurchingly inarticulate. It grates every time I hear it.

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CoffeeCrazedMama · 09/07/2007 11:35

Agree, ahundredtimes. My particular pet hate is when a dc shows me a piece of work of which they are very proud and the teacher, rather than writing 'good' or 'well done' has written LOA (Learning Objective Achieved, methinks). Yuck! There is a particular Key Stage one teacher at our primary school who always does this.

hatrickjacqueline · 09/07/2007 11:33

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Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:31

well, I do, because it makes my flesh creep to hear children being told to talk bollocks

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hatrickjacqueline · 09/07/2007 11:30

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ahundredtimes · 09/07/2007 11:29

Also, but quite separate, I find all this talk of Goals depressing. Early Learning Goals, Literacy Goals, Foundation Stage Goals. Goals for this and goals for that.

I think there should be a part of the curriculum called something like, Pointless but Enjoyable or With No Specific Purpose or An Entirely Undirected Exercise with No Goals. I'd like that, my dcs would be good at it I think.

ahundredtimes · 09/07/2007 11:26

Oh but you can say, we did maths today, which makes more sense than, 'we did numeracy' doesn't it? Maths is a subject, numeracy is erm, well, it's, being able to do maths I suppose.

ghosty · 09/07/2007 11:22

I am with you Greeny. I hate it and hated it was first introduced in the '90s when I was teaching - but my last school was a private school and clung to "Maths" and "English" with grim determination.
They don't use it in Australia thank god ... they call 'English' all the subtitles like "Story Writing" and "Handwriting" and "Spelling" and "Reading" etc etc and Maths is good old fashioned "Maths" ...

Original poster
GreensleevesSusan · 09/07/2007 11:22

literacy and numeracy are adult values though, they just sound WRONG coming from a 5yo.

"Mummy, guess what we did today in literacy"

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