To think that the English state education is useless

[balotelli]

Having seen 2 dc go through the English state education system I have no intention of putting dc3 through it.

It taught me very little that I have used since. The vast majority of the useful info and lessons I need for my life to function and be enjoyed have been sourced from mu own initative since leaving state education.

My 2 dc have never been taught to budget, cook, parent etc at school. Everything they know on these subjects have been learnt at home from their parents.

The hours spent in the classroom were of very litttle use since leaving education. Both have jobs and have learnt well on the job and in fe but have never had to know,

how many wives Henry the 8th had, what the average rainfall in the Amazon rain forrest is, any algebra, trigonometry, physics, chemistry or biology.

While I know it is important to have a base knowledge of many subjects and an idea of what may be a passion that can spark a later carreer, I think that kids today spend way too long learning utter useless crap in school , being tested and stressed out of their developing minds for way too long and from a ridiculously early age.

There I feel better now.

"Both have jobs and have learnt well on the job and in fe "

Sounds to me as if their education was OK then. No-one needs to know the wives of Henry 8, and very few people need to know how to do trigonemtry in real life. So what? It's learning to learn.

And BTW learning on the job is the way the vast majority of people all over the world learn how to do it. Regardless of how good or bad their basic education was.

Sorry but I don't see the point of your post.

Ohhh has she gone then?

In fact, a vague knowledge of Henry VIII is useful in that you therefore get an idea of the Church of England separating from Catholicism, and that gives you a framework for background knowledge of quite a lot of other things, from the British Empire to religious difference and schism worldwide, and so on.

Knowing about the Amazonian rainforest gives you, similarly - and probably much more importantly - a framework for understanding climate change.

I am really interested to hear what education her DC3 will be receiving.

Thank you Salmo

I think she deserves most of the credit for wowing them at her interview, but I'll accept a tiny smidgeon.

I agree with Born2 and malinois. The only HE ones that I know, Salmotrutta, went into 6th form for A'level-it was a lot easier. I think that some go to evening classes or maybe you can do it on line-but practical must be difficult.
If you read some of HE threads you get the impression that employers and universities etc are bowled over by experience-but believe they are the exception, rather than the rule.

A broad education = interesting human who can converse confidently about many subjects. This is A Good Thing. All the things cited in your OP are taught in the independent sector too. Therefore your reasons for saying that the state system is useless are inaccurate.

YANBU to say that the state system's useless though. It's a godamned disgrace and has been for years.

Actually, thinking about it, in my day to day job (as an arts manager) I use the English I learned at school (to write marketing emails); Maths (to analyse budget and data), French, German and Italian to communicate with people around Europe, History on daily basis (because the music we programme is historical), Geography (for tour planning), Music, Drama and Dance knowledge - at a pinch I reckon I use some Science and DT too (for example to assemble staging).

I imagine most people are similar - using a broad range of different skills and subjects, from the wide curriculum they covered in school, as well as many skills and experiences gained at a later date.

Why don't you apply to set up a free school OP?

Thanks exotic - I just wondered how home-educating parents go about registering their child for sitting the exams. And how they deal with internal assessments. Which all need to be verified and moderated etc.

Some home educators arrange to sit exams as private candidates. IGCSEs are very popular with home educators (and independent schools), requiring no coursework. They are often likened to the old O Level, and thought more difficult than the standard GCSE.

At this point it might be worth looking into what education those people have who run the country and/or have top jobs.

A quick look at the present Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet reveals that if you want to make your mark on the country, a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economy at Oxford is the most common path; followed in the popularity stakes by either a degree in a humanities subject (English and History being favourites) or a law degree. So an acquaintance with Henry's wives and/or decent algebra is probably pretty useful. Home economics does not appear to feature.

You will almost certainly find something similar if you looked at directors of major companies, best-selling authors etc: a very very few will have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, the rest will have gone by way of Higher Education. Which presupposes an ability to take an interest in things whose practical relevance is not immediately apparent.

Though if you are going to have the vote, I can't see how the Amazonian rainforest and its huge implications for the survival of the species can possibly be seen as irrelevant. Surely it is the duty of any citizen to try to understand issues that affect us all?

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very

Its not useless, but it is arguable if that it is declining in quality. IMO it no longer lets the teachers actually teach.

I was sad to see very mean comments upthread about Oxbow Lakes. One of life's little pleasures is to spot them from a plane and draw them to the family's attention. Hurray for O-Level Geography (going back a bit here).

If you want a different kind of education then you could look at Summerhill School in Suffolk or Sands School in Devon. Students in these schools have much more freedom over what they study. I have friends who have flourished at these schools when they were failing in the state sector. I think different approaches to education suit different people.

Our state school is fantastic and not enough is said about how well some schools do just bashing on about the state system letting kids down with a good school [or a not so good school] with all [including parent] the child can have a brilliant education and oh how would I have won that barrel of beer without the knowledge of Henry and his wives at the pub quiz

At my secondary I did :

• food tech gcse we cooked no meals from scratch at all. We did pasta with sauce, sausage rolls in ready made pastry etc. I left school not knowing how to make any meals despite having a gcse in it

• I got bb in my English GCSEs we didnt have to read even ONE book. I read one book between year 8 - 11 it was Julius Caesar for year 9 SATs but after that never read a book again. In my GCSE piece I wrote about getting my tongue pierced and then about a few poems in the anthology.

I agree with you MI. But anyone who can dismiss "how many wives Henry the 8th had, what the average rainfall in the Amazon rain forrest is, any algebra, trigonometry, physics, chemistry or biology" as useless clearly has no interest in anything very much at all..

Surely all this applies to the independent sector too, so the OP should rephrase and say that ALL education in school is useless? I disagree, even though I have home edded my son for three years. There are lots of good schools out there, some that are indeed useless, and some fantastic ones. Likewise there are home educators who give their kids a good education, and those that might as well be picking daisies every day.
I think the OP is just having a go at education for its intrinsic value.

As an oldie, long past my own education, I love learning for the sake of learning. Teaching my DS Latin, I am relearning it myself (embarassing grade 9 at O level!) and I am SO enjoying it this time around, and it is going to be very little use to me unless I get good enough to read inscriptions in old churches!

my goodness me, state education actually encompasses a wide range of education including specialist education and believe me if you had a child like mine who has severe learning disabilities you would be bloody well grateful for the second to none education they get in this country. It's actually quite marvelous :)

Does the state sector provide an education that's seen useful by employers? So we have a decent and recognised technical education path or is it just a degree or bust?

The English state education system is indeed patchy in many areas.
And some parents would say that the provision available to them is terrible.

However, it's not usually becuase their DC weren't taught to budget!!!!

Sheesh, my DC have never done a day in the state system but it is DH and I not their school that taught them to do that!

How bizarre! I teach in a rural school and you remind me of one of the dads from a farming family who, when I asked him if he and his wife could please try to listen to his girls read a bit more at home said "Rubbish, girls don't need stuff like that, they need skills, cooking, cleaning and stuff". This was about 3 years ago by the way!

I was, in a previous marriage, a member of a farming family. They all thought like that too. I can clearly remember my bil saying to me one day "I'm not washing up when there's a woman in the house".
Very nineteenth century in their outlook.