To think that this is terrible news for my children's education?

[ICameOnTheJitney]

Axeing of Soft GCSEs to hit Drama and PE

Exam board insiders confirmed this weekend that subjects such as law, media studies, drama and PE were at risk of being culled from the list of about 58 GCSEs. One source said that as many as 20 subjects were under scrutiny

Why the arts? And surely PE is a VALID subject...not all children are academic and we NEED PE teachers and drama teachers and actors ffs!

Please tell me why, if this happens it's a good thing?

Are you writing off dyslexics, friday?

No.

But I think it is misguided to underestimate the challenges they face by citing examples which are, at best, tendentious. People who can't read and write face massive challenges, and pointing to people with private pilot's licenses who claim to have learnt to read and write fluently via the application of Scientology, or people who have had successful careers in the film industry helped only by their father's career in the film industry, doesn't alter those challenges.

In effect I attended a secondary modern. It turned comprehensive two years before I went but apart from drafting in about 4 teachers to teach languages and English, nothing changed and no pupil from year 9 up had passed the eleven plus so teachers had not taught O Levels unless they were new recruits and there were few of these in a stable community.

It was actually quite a nice secondary modern/comprehensive, located in a pleasant area in a strong traditional community. There were a few very good teachers in vocational subjects, but many were poor teachers with no accountability and limited subject expertise. I was top stream and had the best teachers but the experience for children at the bottom end educationally was really unpleasant. I had a couple of dyslexic cousins who had a miserable time in bottom sets but who have since been successful despite their schooling.

I have several older relatives educated there, rather than at the grammar attended by by parents. They don't have fond memories of school at a sec mod.

Many of the 11plus failures were and are intelligent people who, in different circumstances might have passed, yet they weren't served well by the system and neither was the bottom end. Most could have accessed a well taught academic curriculum but didn't have the opportunity. Many are now materially successful.

I would prefer to see enlightened and positive teaching for those who really struggle to access the normal curriculum. I see far less benefit to separating the top 10% and much to dislike about it.

friday but your posts come across as a no true Scotsman argument.

These people are successful, have never been diagnosed with dyslexia (how many people their age were??), and therefore they can't be true dyslexics, because true dyslexics can't achieve success.

I don't interpret Friday's posts like that. I think she is saying that the huge challenges dyslexics face should not be underestimated. Dyslexia is a barrier to achievement.

But I don't think that the barriers to achievement are likely to be underestimated by the mother of two severely dyslexic children! If she suggests some dyslexic role models, how helpful is it really to say 'probably not dyslexic, loads of money' in a manner that suggests that her kids who are dyslexic and don't have loads of money are doomed.

Ok. But she's right about nepotism and Charley Boorman. He's awful.

Friday I think you are reading too much into articles. I was just using a quote that said Cruise couldn't read or write until well after he had made his first film.

I just look at their education differently to normal children. I know that if they pass any GCSEs it will be a bonus but am not going to put pressure on them. They have a lot of extra curricular activities including for dd a lesson on how to learn which has been an enormous help with scripts. Ds is home ed and dd goes to private drama school, which she helps to pay for with work she does.

I work in Enforcement. Drama gave me social skills, people skills, interview skills, taught me how to read people and interact, body language interpretation, memorising scripts (i.e bits of legislation to quote at people), tonal adaptation, ability to adapt to situaltions and potential confrontation, essay writing I could go on and on. Far from being a soft subject it directly compares to the physics a'level I took in its complexity and degree of work and difficulty. It has also been, by far, the most practical use in every day life.