White British pupils underperforming because of parents

George my son's teacher once said to me 'boys will be boys, that's why he doesn't like reading, he's a typical boy'. My son looked shocked and waited to see my reaction, apparently it was worth seeing! The teacher, and afterwards, the head teacher both had to listen to a lengthy diatribe about why her attitude was unacceptable I hope they have recovered from the trauma

Back up the school if discipline is needed. Not say "I wish they'd just deal with it in school without involving me in it."

Sorry, Derxa didn't mean to get your name wrong. Schools today don't have time to teach properly IMO, they have a list of things that children need to be able to do - spend three weeks rewriting a story, write their own poem, etc etc and it's loosely based on a theme.
Say my DCs were going to do the Romans next term, they would learn a few small facts about the Romans but the main focus would be on writing about the Romans and ticking more boxes for literacy skills and any incidental learning about the Romans would be just that, incidental.

Value achievement. See studying as a good thing. Not expect that "boys will be boys" and thereby encourage poor discipline and boisterous activities over reading.

What do families from other cultures do differently?
Have ambition for their children to get more than minimum wage jobs.
Understand that good qualifications are essential to that.
Make their kids put in the time and effort to get those qualifications. Stand over them. Push them. Tell them they need to do it. Not say "I just want them to be happy whatever they decide to do."

Derza exactly my point. Education is about being able to complete a task and not about learning and gaining knowledge.

My DS once had a teacher who had the most appalling general knowledge and taught things that were plain wrong General knowledge is not valued in education now. Old codgers like me who have good gen. knowledge are too expensive. There is no time to stop and stare.

This study is a nightmare for Guardian-types.

Eh? Surely this is worrying for everyone, no matter what paper they read? Or because it's class-based you think the Telegraph readers won't give a shit?

Arround 10-11 some teachers start becoming disaffected and homework is rarely set and marked You must be joking! They have SATs papers coming out of their ears.

It's not about valuing the education on offer, it's about valuing an education.
For example, if a parent thinks that the national curriculum has dumbed down education they can either be a parent who is not invested in their child's education and so does nothing or they can be a parent who values an education and wants their child to do well and so provides additional activities which enhance the education that the child gets.

You can have a child from a family who are in poverty who values an education and seeks to provide educational opportunities even if they don't have much money - they might not be able to travel or go to educational events but they can be encouraged to watch the right programmes on television, to read the right books and so on.

My DS once had a teacher who had the most appalling general knowledge and taught things that were plain wrong, DD used to have a English teacher who admitted to her students that she never read a book and preferred Heat magazine (she's no longer a teacher, she failed her NQT year and left the profession), I knew from what DS had said that her general knowledge was poor, plus I know that the education system in the UK now is so prescriptive that children don't gain much knowledge in schools, they just learn how to do tasks so we worked at home to overcome those shortfalls and my DCs have both done well as a result.

Noble- I don't think native English children are ahead at five- I think the issue is masked by non-english speakers bringing down the stats for their groups at that age. Of course, once they've been in school a while, and learnt the language, they pull ahead as a group.
I think there is a severe problem in England with edutainment, people don't expect or want learning to be boring and hard. Well- it is. And the sooner we lose the attitude that school should be fun and entertaining, the sooner learning will improve.
There is nothing worth having that is not worth working for. Bring back the Protestant work ethic, and you'll see a change. Too many people want something for nothing, and believe it's their entitlement.

Zed, that is interesting

My experience is the English system is very good in infants/Juniors.Arround 7-9 children start developing attitude.Arround 10-11 some teachers start becoming disaffected and homework is rarely set and marked.
In our local comprehensive there was very little homework in year 7/8.It was often project based so often the boys would do it all at the last minute.There was no regular homework helping children get into a habit of working/revising.Then a last minute panic for GCSE's by which time it's too late.So capable bright kids were getting B's and C's in a lot of technical/non-academic subjects.But the school doesn't seem to care and most of the teachers have low expectations.
This has been my personal experience and I'm sure it's not everyone's.But locally, children are being failed.
It makes me so angry that these children are being badly let down .But all I can do is look after my own to the best of my ability.

Also remember that children who have English as a second language are the children of people who have decided to move to another country in search of a better life. They have moved to another country to give their children better opportunities. They are motivated and will push their children to make the most of this opportunity.

Sure, but of the non-white British children, surely there are far more 2nd+ generation than directly descendants of immigrants i.e. quite likely to speak English at home? They should have reported these categories separately.

No, it's actually good. Which means that the people you are assuming are actually moving on and finding their feet. What is wrong with that. Maybe they have started to leave their issues behind and the U.K Is improving in those areas. The only difference is one group of white working people needs help and a solution should be found in the education system. Your attitude won't help solve.

I don't really understand your post.

Why would a parent value an education that they are always being told is crap?
Yes, Noble, and why would children and teenagers?

It's probably a case of bilingual pupils having parents who are more invested in their children's education because they have made the effort to support their child learning a second language, parents who are less interested/able/motivated to encourage their child to learn English and leave it to the school to teach them are going to have children who underperform academically perhaps?

It's not only about parental values but also how society views and portrays education. I've just watched a CBBC programme where a girl who was cheating was labelled as "gifted and talented" but hated being thought of as bright so confessed to avoid further attention. Kids' TV is full of role models being at best mediocre, at worst fighting against education. These programmes are being made by people who've not been in schools for decades and have no idea of what actually happens in one.

It's the same in adult TV. I can't remember the last time I saw an intellectually aspirational character, although, to be fair, I can't face watching much telly these days.

At school children do not want to be seen as bright, preferring instead to mess around and be popular. My own child is one of them. I work with a girl whose father told her not to worry about school work as daddy will find her a nice, rich husband. And she fell for it. And another who reckons that having great hair, nails and clothes will take her further than her maths GCSE.

Our kids' role models have nothing to do with education. Footballers, footballers' wives, reality TV contestants, talent show winners and models is where it's at for those kids whose parents aren't already setting them the example that education is priceless.

And it needs to change.

The report is about education in England only.

What do they mean by 'white British'? England, Scotland and Wales have different education systems. The English system in particular may be damaged by an escalating lack of trust due in no small part to the actions of successive governments. Perhaps the Irish system is largely trusted and supported by the communities it serves.

Also remember that children who have English as a second language are the children of people who have decided to move to another country in search of a better life. They have moved to another country to give their children better opportunities. They are motivated and will push their children to make the most of this opportunity.

I am not surprised, as there has been so much emphasis on interventions and help for those who are doing less well or who have additional needs those children in the middle get left.

*This study is a nightmare for Guardian-types.

Very sad indeed.*

No, it's actually good. Which means that the people you are assuming are actually moving on and finding their feet. What is wrong with that. Maybe they have started to leave their issues behind and the U.K Is improving in those areas. The only difference is one group of white working people needs help and a solution should be found in the education system. Your attitude won't help solve.

I think I or my grandad got the Irish education history wrong. He died in the 1980's and was old. The point was he was in his 80's telling us how lucky we were to receive education.

www.askaboutireland.ie/learning-zone/primary-students/5th-+-6th-class/history/my-school-history/17th-and-18th-century-hed/hedge-schools/

Zed that sounds like a large proportion of the students at my DCs school. Something else which helps is small class sizes, the school has 10 academic sets so the more able students and the ones who don't want to learn (I'm going to be hated on MN now aren't are?!) are separated from each other. DD and DS both say that there are no children in their sets who mess about, they are all ones who work hard and want to get on well.

So they're fine when they start school. Parents are doing the right things with their kids up till then.

I wonder how much of this is being native speakers of English, though?