GCSEs 2018 (5 & a puppy, but no kittens)

[Stickerrocks]

Here we go again.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3177476-GCSEs-2018-4-already

None of us are left handed. Only my grandad was in the extended family. My gran told me that the teachers (1920s) used to hit him if he tried to write with his left hand. And they called him stupid.

Only DD is left handed, my mum was also forced to write with her right hand whereas if given the choice it would of been her left.

Neither of mine showed any left-handed traits but I think I was left handed and made to change - I remember being made to write with my right hand (by a teacher who took my crayons away, once, incidentally!) and I’ve ended up mixed handed, as it were. The teacher was actually very nice but this was a village school in the early 1970s and she was close to retirement age so I think she believed she was doing me a favour.
Mmzz that teacher’s behaviour was appalling and I’m really shocked by it. To persecute a little child like that is unthinkable,

Loose I wish I'd done more and sooner. I regret letting it get so far, and the teacher got off scot free having turned my son from a happy, trusting little boy into a tearful, anxious, nervous child. I should have pursued an official complaint.
Trying to bully someone with dysgraphia into writing better is as wrong and as futile as trying to bully someone in a wheelchair into going for a walk.

DD left handed for writing, but right handed for tennis, hockey and cricket. Weird.

DS2 is left handed, as is his dad.

He has received a conditional offer from his second choice sixth form, so he now has three varying offers, which is reassuring.

Thesecond that's really good. Are the offers to do different things at each of the three?

Left handed ness isn't hereditary, is it?

My ds is left handed, that is interesting mmzz about the psychology article. I also read somewhere that a difficult birth can result in left handedness - my ds still has the scar on his forehead from the forceps.
Both dh and I are right handed. I digress, not sure how true this is, but in the film The King's Speech, it is highlighted that children can develop a stammer related to being made to write with their right hand when naturally left handed....

Kingscote my Dad mentions that he is right handed, but uses a spade with his left hand.

I would like my ds to take a couple of days off at Easter for a complete rest, he has been stressed but luckily it's not interfered with his sleep. More Science mocks after Easter, and 4 revision sessions during the holidays. Last exam is 21st June.

Loose thank you for answering my question about the resits. My friend's daughter is stressing about it and working herself very hard thinking there is one chance only.

Sos my ds is competent with Maths but not his best subject, which are English and Geography. I know a link between left handedness and mathmatical ability has been found - interesting. My right handed dd is very good at Maths.

So left handed ness is nothing to do with hereditary? DH and I are right handed as are DS1 and DS3 (with the handwriting issues), DS2 and DD are left handed. All 4 GPs are right handed- although my Mum is another one made to use her right hand. When she broke her right wrist in her sixties she could write pretty well with her left hand.

DS (DS3 my GCSE one) has 3 conditional offers for sixth forms. All grammars but slightly different grades needed. DS’s preference is the grammar which needs the highest grades - 64 points from 9 GCSEs - and 8s or 9s both count as 8 points! DS is predicted to get enough points but we are holding on to all the offers in case.

My right handed DS1 is very good at Maths - he’s doing a PhD!

The offers are for the same subjects, but have slightly different grade requirements. I had to make a visual aid as I was finding it confusing.

A point average of 7.5! There's no room for no being good at everything with that.

That's what I thought..........its not great for those that excel in maths and science but struggle with the humanities!

Poor DS - what began as a pounding headache on Wednesday night turned into a sickness bug. He was looking a bit better yesterday afternoon, it's very frustrating for him as he's having to miss 2 music concerts today but can't be helped.

Loose hope your DS feels better soon, DS had similar a few weeks ago it lasted 5 days.......it wasn't pleasant!

Loose hope D's better soon.
Thanks all for taking part in mini survey of left handers!
Geography is my dgds best and favourite subject followed by maths and sciences.
She has been a star today! I moved desk into bedroom so she can study in peace without the pup or myself annoying her. This morning she did 2 hours revision/homework then she helped me cart 60 bricks from the car to the garden. And she's now doing another hours work. She has 4 large assessments tomorrow which I think is ridiculous but I think she will get through. Effectively tests on whole units of chemistry physics r.e and math.

Wasn't sure whether to start a separate thread but thought I'd try you knowledgeable people first.

DD is struggling with English Language still. She has worked really hard on English and gone to extra intervention and it has improved her literature grade (from a 4 to a 6) but she's still only getting a 4 for Language (was a 3 last summer.)

Obviously we'd all be happy if she got a 4 but it's a bit too close to a 3 for comfort.

She's otherwise bright and good at exam technique, and is aiming for 9s in Maths and Computer Science and 6 or above in everything else (except RS) so a 3 in Language would really impact on what she does next.

I think the main problem is confidence. She's got it into her head she's "rubbish" at English and there's no shifting it.

Today I've helped her put together a list of other things she could do to help her improve. She's already focusing on questions and exam technique at school so I thought I could help her with general improvements to her language. So far we've got:

Punctuation - make sure she is confident with it all

Go back to basics on grammar (KS2/3 stuff, online quizzes / apps etc)

Spelling and vocabulary - using good descriptive words and having flash cards around the house.

Any other ideas?

Kick, could you encourage her to read for pleasure, if she doesn't already do so? It might help.

kick Mr Salle's book good for English language and Mr Bruff videos and books good too. My dgd the same with English and has definitely got a ' thing' about it even though she is a high achieved in all other subjects. Reading lots of different genre books will help. Try to extend vocabulary by learning a new word a day. And, try not to put pressure on dc which is very hard to do. Like you English language is important for dgd too as she really needs to aim for a 6 to make sure she gets a 5 in order to go to 6th form she wants and they won't accept resits either. We don't mention English now unless she does and the recent mock she did a couple of weeks ago ( last years paper) was very promising. By taking all pressure off and not constantly reminding her its important ( because she realises it is) seems to have helped her. Hope some of this helps.

When 6th forms say they want a 4 in English, exactly which English do they mean? Both? Any? A specific one? An average of the two?

Thanks.

She used to be a real bookworm. Top reader in her year in the AR scheme in Y7. Around y9 she just stopped. That might be connected to when she got her smartphone.

She now spends hours and hours reading fanfic. She's read all the Harry Potter, Marvel, Dan and Phil etc fanfic she can lay her hands on. It's still reading I suppose but it's badly edited and full of errors. I'm not sure it's the same thing.

I bought the Mr Salles and Mr Bruff books a few weeks ago when they were discussed on this thread (us lurkers are taking your advice on board!) but I think someone also said it can get a bit overwhelming to have too many guides so I've made it clear that I bought them to educate myself on how to help her.

She might look at them nearer the time.

I think the English language GCSE is one of those that's easy if you are creative and really difficult if you're not. DS tells me that some of the questions are about language, others are about structure and there's a creative writing piece too.
It seems to me that the first two things you should do are make sure your DD knows what the questions are expecting from her (Mr Salles is good for that), and then contact her teacher for help. Maybe your DD needs more practice. Maybe she just needs someone (who she believes) telling her that she's able to do well. Either way, getting the teacher to help would be what I'd be doing now.
Also, I wouldn't hold the mr salles and mr bluff books back any longer. There's not much you can do with them if presented with them only days before the exam.

English language mmzz. The schools seem to think if you get a 5 in language you will get a 5 in lit.