Gcse 2018 (10) The one with half term

I think the reason I have found this thread more interesting and helpful than any other, and is the first I have been regularly involved in, is because we seem to have a huge range of DC, a huge range of different types of schools, and different type of revision approaches And in general we accept no one size fits all - we are just all seeking advice and ideas in case it can contribute/add to what we already do and believe.

I think we've been an open minded and supportive crowd and pointing out a difference doesn't mean judgement - long may it continue

@mmzz you should definitely do it! Maybe create an App for easy access for parent and child. It could be the next quizlet or Tassomai.

After trying to help DS on Tuesday with english though, I won't ever attempt that again! It did no one any favours!

That's how I feel. I'd also worry that I might misinterpret things, I might hinder more than help. Surely the English teacher is best placed to teach them!

Also, surely the exams are aimed at 16 year olds, not 40 -50 year old parents ?

sandybayley DH wants me to get it built on a platform and sell it that way. There are investors who specialise in it as a sub-sector. The educational software sub-sector is exploding right now as a result of the spread of fast broadband and the way schools have greater spending flexibility with their budgets .

I'm not really involved as I feel it's important for kids to take ownership of their education/exams and, more importantly, I feel the teachers know the curriculum/literature much better than me!

I think I could make a stab at tutoring RS! Wouldn't want to. Disliked every moment that I spent doing it, but DS seemed to have a mental block over it and was asking for help. You sort of learn it as you are looking at it trying to make sense of it.

I think i could tutor maths too., but they say that those who struggle are better off being tutored by people who struggled with it themselves, and I can see the sense in that.

After trying to help DS on Tuesday with english though, I won't ever attempt that again! It did no one any favours!

@mmzz your spreadsheet sounds really good. I bet you could sell it as a product to other parents next year.

I'd say I am an interested but not overly involved parent. DS1's school is very good and I've leant to trust them over the years he's been there. I don't feel the need to actively manage DS1's revision because he is on top of it (I think). DD will be the same but I think DS2 will need more support (although he should mature a bit over the next 3 years).

I'm afraid I'm just too busy with work and 3 children to spend too much time worrying about details. I'm more of an overseer than an active manager!

No justification required mmzz, it sounds organic - that's how things so often are.

I'm very involved with DS1, but much less so with DS2, even though he is younger. It just about what each child wants and needs.

I know about the timetable and the exam board specifications because I built the timetable spreadsheet using my excel skills. It ended up taking a lot of time, but started off as just an hour's work on Saturday last Autumn. DS didn't know where, or when, to start with the revision for the mocks, so I suggested he list out what he needed to know for the mocks and make a guess as to how long he needed to revise each part. Then add it all together and break it up into manageable chunks. 5 minutes later, it became obvious that he was hazy about recalling even the names of the topics he had been studying. He has dysgraphia, so his workbook gets used infrequently in school and his electronic notes were all in a jumble.
So, I googled the specification for each exam, and copy pasted them into a spreadsheet.
After the mocks, DS asked me to modify the spreadsheet to actually map the work onto a calendar, so I did that (took 3 days because at first, I couldn't work out how to do it so that he could keep changing it easily).
Then at easter he started to panic that he wouldn't have time to learn everything and do all the homework etc. Also, he could only see what he didn't know, rather than appreciate that he already knew a lot. So, I made more modifications, often going back to the spec to check some facts rather than relying on DS's often hazy description of what he thinks the teacher may or may not have told the class.

It turns out that the specification is really useful, but I don't know if something else would have made me look at it if I hadn't been for trying to build that spreadsheet.

I feel like I am having to justify myself here....

Bishop same here, I am more involved with English, although ds didn't seem to know Jekyll & Hyde very well....I did some 'sticking plaster' Jekyll & Hyde talking through the revision guide and linking themes to quotes. I hope he gets a 4 or 5...

Re parental involvement. I think it can vary by subject too.

I'm hugely involved in English. To the point I could probably tutor it next year

I have a degree and MA in English lit so I do have some background. Dd has always found it a struggle and is hopefully limping towards a 5 in language. I'm doing whatever I can to get her there to avoid resits.

I'm not at all involved in any other subjects apart from occasional testing the night before if required.

Good luck to all of them sitting History right now. For Aqa it's Germany I believe. I asked ds if he felt prepared, he said 'yeah' which is a good sign, he'd be stressed and kicking something if he didn't feel prepped!

I have to say the school is doing everything they can to prep them....3 hours of History revision. Ds knows his material, he has struggled with exam technique. All crossed.

Loose - Your students are very lucky to have such a lovely teacher.

History today too - 1hr 30 minutes but just two exams. I'm also nervous ...DD really struggles to write fast enough and her writing gets bigger and bigger has the pressure mounts.

Good point that dcs are different even within the same family - mine certainly are!
Meanwhile, I am more nervous about the students I teach than my own DS this week. Tomorrow I’ll be there to say soothing and encouraging words to them as they go into the exam room - and these are not 15 and 16 year-olds!

Yes only one hour 15 here. There’s 3 papers so that must be why...

God nervous today about History. He loves it and wants to study it at Uni. Praying it goes ok. He messed up his timings and ran out of time last time. It’s the one subject he really knows inside and out. 🤞

Good luck to everyone today!!!

Ps on the parenting - I am definitely very involved. Wish I didn’t have to be though! It’s really interesting to see all the different approaches. I don’t think there are many actively sabotaging - I’ve worked with families with the issues you mention and the vast majority want their kids to do well. They may hinder them but not “actively”.

Yes goodbyestranger only 75 minutes today. Doesn't seem long enough to write down all the dates DD1 has been trying to cram in. Just hope some of them stick!

Cblue The school were reasonable with DD1, so I hope we will find something that works for DD2 too. I don't care about unis, that's extremely unlikely to happen. I would just like her to get her 5 passes including English and Maths and Science as that opens up access to level 3 animal/conservation courses at college.
When DD1 dropped History she had to keep quiet about it so as not to encourage others. She had to go to the 'inclusion unit' to work.

I'm kind of hoping they have an option block that says 'extra maths & English' in it as that would be the best solution all round. Anyway there's 6 months to go before I have to really think about it.

I've come across some actively sabotaging parents. They may not have done it intentionally, but it's comments like "don't you worry about that, I never got any qualifications and it's done me no harm", or bandying about words like "swot" and "geek" when a student gets down to some revision. Or the mother of one of my daughter's friends who is totally transparent about the fact she thinks her younger daughter is a lot less clever than the older one. Which is very likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy unless the younger one is very determined to prove her wrong.

DD's history exam today is only an hour and a quarter, which seems incredibly short, but she's clear that that's right and not a typo on the exam sheet. She's doing edexcel. Are all history exams today this short?

Firstly good luck to all the DC doing papers today!!!

@TeenTimesTwo - your school will probably let her drop one if you push hard enough. DD dropped a MFL in year 10. She’s dyslexic and there was only a very slim chance of her scraping a C/4 and that would have involved dedicating a sizeable chunk of revision time. I waited until she did badly at her Xmas exam then politely explained that all of her results would be impacted by the school’s insistence on her doing the subject (which in turn was affected by government policy for all DC to have at least one language) plus the stress and impact on self confidence. When they realised that all her grades could fall and impact on THEIR league tables they gave in.

....I appreciate that this may impact on Uni apps but I am sure that with a bit of explaining (personal statement will include overcoming dyslexia to succeed).

So in essence they will probably give in to your request after she has start. As for what does she do with her time - she goes to the library and self studies. The first few months she did an online touch typing course too.

Hope that helps
Ps - When working out ‘points’ Unis def only include your 8 best grades

*I am.... love MNHQ not really for giving us no edit facility.

I think I take different attitude from most ppl on this thread because I are different. I've had the over-achiever & the stubborn under-achiever & now I have the very disorganised kid & finally I'll probably get an ordinary kid to finish off.

How I handle them wrt revision, academics, exams says everything about me, not them.

Loose yes that was what I said at the outset, about different DC.

And also lljkk, we both have to admit that we've involved enough to be on this thread and contributing! :)

parents who are abusive emotionally or physically or druggies or even tell their kids not to try, or do loads that results in an unstable environment.

"Don't get above yourself, only swots work hard at school."