Am I not bright? 3rd in my degree.

[OnTrain]

A thread kind of about a thread. More about a post in a thread! Someone slagging off Carol Vordeman because she only got a third in her degree. Saying she wasn’t bright.

I got a third, tbh I’m just glad I passed but I also thought I was bright! Do I need a reality check? Am I a thicko?!

I think I am the latter tea I’m finding the masters side of my pgce quite challenging.

I’m finding my actual subject, which I got a 3rd in, pleasant and enjoyable to teach. But I learnt alot more of my subject in the field in my own time moreso than in uni.

@OnTrain, I pulled the poster up for that.

You say you're in the middle of teacher training and getting good observations. So it hasn't held you back from pursuing a career in teaching.

Lots of people get thirds and some don't even pass their degree.

Anyway, a degree is a degree so I wouldn't take that comment to heart.

Good luck with teacher training.

NEVER bluntness I’m referring to MYSELF. Never would I call or think it of others

I really don't understand this. How have you been teaching chicken for fifteen years but only now doing your teacher training? How do you not know a third is not a good degree?

My housemate at uni got a 3rd but tbh that she got a degree at all demonstrates that she's actually a very able woman, given that she went to 2 lectures all year and wrote her dissertation in less than 24 hours. If she'd done any work at all she'd have got an excellent degree.

Clearly that should be children not chickens 🤣

Thanks xsq yeah I saw you pulled her up on it.

I’ve always just been proud of going and completing uni. I’m the 1st ever in my family, and my mum made such a big deal of it! Now it’s been poo pooed on

I always say to my students as long as they get what they need to progress onto the next thing they want to do, they've done ok. People generally only look at your last qualification anyway (thank goodness or my relatively crap A levels would be round my neck forever!). So your degree got you onto the teacher training, job done. I must admit I didn't think PGCEs took anything less than a 2:1 these days but pleased to hear that isn't the case, subject knowledge at degree level is obviously very important but it isn't the only factor in making a good teacher.

Fair play for doing your final year while pregnant, I've struggled to have the oomph to teach stuff I've been covering for years at times during my first trimester!

I’ve been teaching as an unqualified teacher in a residential setting

I think there are different types of intelligence OP. I got a first in English & History and then studied law as a postgrad and qualified as a solicitor, but I think I’m ‘academic’ rather than necessarily intelligent. For example, my general knowledge leaves a lot to be desired and there are plenty of subjects I know nothing about. I was also pretty abysmal at maths so I’m not an all-rounder by any means

So while by some standards I suppose I’m intelligent, in that I did well at school and uni, I’m sure there are plenty of people who may not have done brilliantly in their studies but are more intelligent than me in many ways.

Yeah, heyha thanks! It was hard sitting 3hr exams with a foot on my bladder 😂

Now it’s been poo pooed on

Because one person on one thread said carol vordemon wasn’t very bright?!
But come on... you knew that a third was the lowest degree classification you could get, obviously? So I’m not sure what your question is!

Did you attend the ‘University’ of Edge Hill? If so then yes, sadly you are a thicko. If you attended any other university then who really knows

All else considered you did well to complete your course when pregnant during your final year. Thicko or not you can still offer a great deal to society, your ‘intelligence’ is only ever a small part of what makes someone a net contributor to society, just be the best person you can be. Personally, I admire a good level of self reflection and self denigration, it shows that you understand that there are more important things in life

Good luck with your teaching career, it’s a tough job and I would suggest working hard and a good sense of humour are far more important than outright intelligence anyway

Considering that less than a third of the adult uk population even have a degree, I’d say you’re doing ok.

Some weird responses here.

I'm not academic. I have no qualifications past GCSE. I started AS levels and ended up dropping out after 4 months. I certainly don't think I'm "thick", my strengths lie elsewhere. I enjoy learning but I do it in my own way.

Ah yeah I’ve heard that bumble like intelligence and common sense don’t mix

Yeah I did soy but I also thought that just going to uni and passing a degree counts for somethinf

A 3rd is fine. Many people don't even make it as far as Uni. You are not thick, maybe not as clever as those that breeze a 1st, but not thick.

No hiroo but it was a Welsh one

I thought you needed a minimum 2.2 to get onto a PGCE course? OP - what is your subject - is it a shortage area, such as maths/physics?

Well yeah it does. One person commenting on a thread about Carol Vordeman doesn’t change that.

Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right...

Times have changed. Now 75% of students get a 2:1 or above. In 1990 that was closer to 30%. A 2:2 was the ‘average’ degree. Now it’s a 2:1.

I got a third in mine and always felt a bit rubbish about it. On the other hand, this is a pass! I put in a lot of work, I was also working full time and a single parent too so given all that I actually did ok!
My brother jokingly said to me one day 'They give you a third for writing your name on the paper' which stung but I know it was hard for me and I got there, albeit with a lower grade than I would have liked.
A lot of people drop out of uni before the end so actually finishing the course is a great achievement in itself so well done!

And many others on here soy