to think Gove's ideas on education are hilarious?

[NonnoMum]

So, putting all the kids in blazers and ties is a brilliant idea (why stop there, Mike, how about boaters too?) And training up ex-squaddies to be teachers - that'll instill discipline, won't it now? Who wants James Blunt as their RS teacher (just remember kids, "you're bootiful")
What a load of tosh...
Who voted for these muppets?

Oh, yeah, and they're scrapping school sports too - woopie!

What is wrong with modular exams? Where else in life do you have to compress everything you have learned down into a 3hr slot, where hopefully you'll recall all the relevant facts on the day in question?

Even at University you get to sit exams at the end of each year covering what you've done that year, and get to write a Thesis or two to show what you know.

Stress while like you I agree with some of the ideas I think it is wrong to say teachers do not give up weekends. Just about every weekend and school holiday we have teachers out with our students doing things.

But some modular exams are not at the end of the year - which I do not have much of an issue with but at shorter intervals. The retake culture is also becoming a problem and trips students up as they rely on retaking rather than taking it seriously.

I was a bright student, I managed to take my GCSE's and A Levels at the end of my course and get straight As - (There were no A*s).

lego I don't see anything about bootcamp style either implied or overt in batteryhuman's post.

I don't think final exams only test memory - although that is part of it. They should test understanding. I have a rubbish memory but have always excelled in exams.

Isn't Canada No.1, SGM?

What do you think works about the Canadian system.

Is it correct punctuation, such as question marks?

obviously I think the high retake thing is a problem. But modular I see no issue with.

Agree with SGM

"Final exams don't represent anything but memorisation. They aren't representative of any job in the 'real world'."

I'm an English teacher. I'll teach in whatever format the Government in their infinite wisdom decide upon. But FFS how are we supposed to keep up? The shiny brand-new semi-modular GCSE syllabus started THIS SEPTEMBER. Now they're changing it again? If we can't take a breath because of all the bloody 'improvements' nothing is going to improve.

Sorry, bad day at the chalk face.

In our area the secondaries with the most formal uniforms are also the ones with the poorest results and the greatest discipline problems. Including the academy that was only set up the other year (complete with uniform).

Randomly raising the bar over what constitutes a 'failing' school and then forcing such schools to become acadamies - privatisation of education through the back door.

Claiming to free teachers from interference from Whitehall and then forcing us to place more emphasis on grammar, spelling etc.

The man is a nutter.

I haven't had a chance to look at it all in detail yet but I am scared and depressed from what I have heard so far today in the staffroom.

Love you, harpsichordcarrier!

There is no Canadian system

Provinces have total jurisdiction over education, some have public exams, some do not

As such I don't know if there are generalisations that can be made

It is a v different culture, certainly I have never heard of anyone implying that teachers deliberately try to miseducate or ruin the life chances of students as has been said by one poster on this thread

I am canadian

why don't you say pfffffft to learning objectives and the national flipping curriculum and teach some nice poetry tomorrow KingThistle? How about a nice bit of Wordsworth?
That's always very cheering

smallwhitecat - so you have no reference books at home to check up on laws and regulations then? You rely solely on your memory? Or do you take on a case and look things up occasionaly to check??

I can cram reasonably well for an exam, obviously there is an element of understanding - but certainly back when I did my school exams the vast majority of the final exams relied on memory of facts.

FWIW I left school with good grades, and had 2 unconditional offers from Russell Group Universities (which I deferred for a year to go to Zimbabwe and then subsequently didn't do) so I'm not stupid.

But I know for a fact that the subjects I did better at, and have retained information on where those that had more courswork and were more modular than those that I crammed for the final exams on.

we had an ex army officer at our gaff
was a bit wet tbh

totally diffo skill set

Probably because he'd always been told what to do by his superiors.

Might just do that harpsichord!