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Original poster

Sixth form students unwilling to do 30 mins revision a day

60 replies

Blandmum · 03/04/2006 16:38

My class,most having failed at least one modular examination outright told me today that 30 minutes revision a night is unreasonable, 'What if we have something else to do?'

Dur??????

You did it your way and failed, and what does this tell you children???????

Lazy little devils. Angry

I'm even helping them to sort out a timetable FFS!

OP posts:
Freckle · 03/04/2006 16:40

Not high achievers, then, MB?? Could you arrange for them to stay behind for the 30 minutes so that, when they get home, their time is their own?

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/04/2006 16:41

So I would have to stay? (I work in a lab and they would have to be supervised) Fat chance!

OP posts:
Donk · 03/04/2006 16:42

MB, I thought that I had been lazy in the 6th form(back in the '70's) until I had to try and get students to revise.......
And lower down the school, they are all certain that reading through their books the night before is the way to go.
I even did an experiment with two classes where we tried one test after they had revised their way, and one test after they had revised my way (little and often, active revision etc) during lesson time.
Guess which test they did best on - but it didn't convert any of them to actually revising effectively!

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/04/2006 16:44

some of these kids are already resiting, and they still don't seem to realise that they have to actually work to get good results.

30 MINUTES FFS

OP posts:
Kathy1972 · 03/04/2006 16:46

But if they fail again MB, it'll be your fault - stupid teacher couldn't teach them enough to pass Grin
Oh, I know the type....

MeAndMyBoy · 03/04/2006 16:46

Amazing - far too used to getting things on a plate without too much effort at home me thinks.

At 6th form I would say they are old enough to take the responibility for their actions - was expected of us at 6th form - don't do the revision don't get the grades - it's up to them.

Going to show my age now sorry, most junior school children have more than 1/2 hr homework a night and they manage, Senior school I remember having hours of home work.

Must be so frustrating for you MB.

Freckle · 03/04/2006 18:34

Do these children actually have any ambitions in life? What do they want to do when they leave school? And how do they think they are going to have that choice if they're not prepared to work.

And, worse, when they do get out into the real world, just think what a shock it's going to be when they are expected to do some work in order to benefit from a pay cheque.

Original poster
Blandmum · 03/04/2006 19:10

Oh yes! They expect to get on courses that take two A grades and a B, like physiotherapy!

They just don't see to get it that they have to do some work!

One of our student teachers in school failed the course and they were stunned that you could, like fail and be kicked off the course! This is what real life it like cherubs, is what I said!!!!

OP posts:
yoyo · 03/04/2006 19:30

I spent more time than that revising for internal exams at school! I'm not that surprised though as we seem to be producing a generation who expect everything to work out for them and if it doesn't then it will always be someone else's fault.

quanglewangle · 05/04/2006 00:39

Things haven't changed as much as we would like to think. Throughout school I survived on doing the bare minimum throughout the year then adrenalin-fuelled last minute revison just before exams. We all did. I got straight A's at A level in the days when nobody got straight A's. I have brain in my head but I am no whizz kid, I just need the last minute panic to set in for the knowledge to sink in.

I have just taken ds for interviews at sixth form colleges and all of them trotted out the number of hours homework they are expected to do every night, just the same as when I was at school and of course no one did that amount of work. A full day's work followed by a full evening's work is unrealistic.

And as for ambition, they only have experience of the class room so how can most kids be expected to know what they want to do? They won't even have heard of a lot of professions. I think it is particularly hard for kids who are all-rounders - the decisonj to do sciences or whatever is pretty important to your future career. If it were at all practical I would like all kids to have a gap year befor A levels instead of after to get some experience of being in the real world.

Original poster
Blandmum · 05/04/2006 06:45

But this isn't a full days work followed by a full evening, it doesn't even get close. If a student does 3 A2 levels they will have 3 x4 hours and 40 minutes lessons a week. That is 14 hours work a week, not the 40 they will be expected to do when they start work. add on 30 minutes a night per subject and this comes to a stagering 10.5 extra hours. In other words 24.5 hours a week.....

So hardly a full days work followed bu a full evening, in fact, not even a full days work.

OP posts:
Original poster
Blandmum · 05/04/2006 06:53

and these are kids who tried the last minute revision in their last exam, most failed outright, some scraped an E....so your revision style doesn't suit them. The two students who worked got Bs

OP posts:
threebob · 05/04/2006 07:13

It amazes me that they can't see that being a physiotherapist would be hard work - not the mention the work involved in becoming one. Actually it doesn't amaze me - I'm forever being told that they "had a lot on this week".

Original poster
Blandmum · 05/04/2006 07:21

And getting a place on a course for physiotherapy is taking AAB grades! And even though these kids have already failed their first set of exams, Captin Reality still hasn't paid them a visit!

And these kids are getting the chance for extended study, free and they also get funding of between £10 to £30 a week, while their less fortunate classmates are now out working a 40 hour week, paying taxes to keep their less motivated chums in school going, 'strewth 30 minutes revision a night'.

OP posts:
bubblerock · 05/04/2006 07:38

I was a lazy cow in the 6th form too and drove my biology teacher crazy - I failed in the end. He was a fantastic teacher aswell!

katyp · 05/04/2006 07:51

Quanglewangle, "A full day's work followed by a full evening's work is unrealistic." Well that is what I and my classmates had to do when I was at secondary school - but not is this country. I visited my cousins here just before I started at uni, the youngest was doing A Levels and I was amazed that he basically had the evenings free to himself! I have to say I am a firm believer in plenty of homework - keeps them off the streets! But then I grew up in a country with high unemployment where education was valued by all sectors of society because it was seen as a way out of poverty.

Maybe your students are lazy Martianbishop because they have a comfortable life and don't realise that you have to work for that (unless mummy and daddy are prepared to keep forking out for you)

tarantula · 05/04/2006 08:11

Have to say thats what I did too katyp and I was a slacker to say the least. I was brought up in Ireland and we sat Leaving Cert at 17 and were expected to do 7 subjects and if we wanted to get to Uni we had to do these at honours level. We had homework and revision to do in all these and were expected to put in at least 3 hours work a night after a full day at school (9 to 4). Not sure I always did mind but def did at least 1-2 hours.
Oth tho we did get decent summer holidays GrinWas shocked that the kids over here only got 6 weeks Poor things.

katyp · 05/04/2006 08:31

Tarantula, the only downside to the hours of homework, from my pov, was that I was sick to death of it by the time the exams came and we all went a bit mad at uni when we had a bit more freedom!

DominiConnor · 05/04/2006 08:39

I appreciate MB's problems, went to a school like that. Also the techniques I would use on the equivalent defective employee would either fail or quite likely get her sacked.
How verbally abusive are you allowed to be these days ?
What do these kids think their next step is ?

If they can't work on their own, university is not going to add much value to their careers.

Kathy1972 · 05/04/2006 08:57

Yeah, with us it was an hour a night per subject.
If you were doing 3 A levels you got a few free periods but if you did 4 the homework all had to fit in when you got home at night.
Hard work but perfectly realistic.

edam · 05/04/2006 09:00

If they are doing three A2s, though, that's an hour and a half a night, isn't it? Confession: was a lazy cow myself, stuffed up A-levels, had to work MUCH harder than my fellows to get back on track. Life is a lot easier if you put the effort in at the first opportunity.

fisil · 05/04/2006 09:01

Quanglewangle, "A full day's work followed by a full evening's work is unrealistic."

My life is, and always has been unrealistic!

brimfull · 05/04/2006 09:11

My dd in yr 9 does more homework/revision than this.

Tommy · 05/04/2006 09:40

I always told my students (6th form) that they should do an hours work at home for every hour they did in college (lessons etc) - slighty more than their 30 mins I guess!! Shock
At the risk of sounding like Ann Widdecombe (again - I keep doing it, it's very worrying wink])- it seem to be part of this generation's concept of having anything they want without actually having to put any effort in - the world owes me a living type attitude

Jennypog · 05/04/2006 09:43

If you go on the CGP website they have a revision timetable and I complete this in class with my students. I also teach them how to revise, because TBH most haven't a clue. I think most want to succeed it is just that their social life gets in the way and we have to understand this.

I get them to fit their revision time around their social activities. The CGP timetable has spaces for soaps and so on, which shows that it doesn't have to be all work.

Not easy though. At the end they are working for their own rewards and they need to realise this. I always say, I'm okay, I have my GCSEs, A levels, and degree, but you lot need to get yourself sorted!! I don't know if it works though! I find boys tough nuts to crack, the girls usually have it sussed.