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Originally Posted by Arragonis
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Nope - now we have the "Curriculum for Excellence" as the McGovernment.Scotland calls it. So what we get instead is a single sided sheet with about 5 paragraphs of, well, total bollocks to be honest. Apparently A-junior "works well in groups and as an individual". Well at what ? No idea. Is it work at a level kids of his age should be doing ? No idea. Is he ahead or behind in something ? No idea.
. . . The two studio people were someone from the local councils in Scotland (they run the schools) and the teaching unions. So what we got was a discussion about wage settlements and some huffing and puffing about how its impossible to sack a useless teacher.
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As a leftie I believe in universal education just like universal healthcare - hey we have it here and it works when not being "re-disorganised" over and over - but I am seriously considering placing myself in retirement bankruptcy to make sure A-junior gets a decent private education.
A-Junior is clever BTW - he can work out most problems straight away. I got him a science - electronics kit - for Christmas and he worked it all out. He also worked out Judo moves so he, as a small kid, can beat the big kid. No idea where he gets the big brains - or the good looks - from but he has them, and I hate to see it wasted like this.
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It sounds like some of our "no child left behind" idiots have infected your side of the pond. Their great contribution is red-tape "assessments." But I've seen an uglier side, privatization of education, and somehow, I suspect that is their ultimate goal.
When I was in grade school, Mom took us to the public library. I learned a lot in school but it was always too slow. But the library, books provided what I needed at speed.
My parents sent me to a private school (a for fee school) for two years and that was a living h*ll. The classes were small and the pace was still glacial but worse, they played personalities. In the smaller classes, there was no way to 'sneak a read' and many of the kids were selfish little b*st*rds and b*tches. Worse, the library was a joke.
I got back to public school for the last four years and they had a wonderful library. As a library aid, I was in 'hog heaven.' Then I found the vocational tech, electronics courses had real electronics and a good book with a plan of labs and lectures. I was also exposed to 'self-paced' training in English and finally could go 'at speed.' But the math department and 'college bound' courses were a joke. This idea that all kids must be taught at the same pace is cruel.
I have never been a fan of 'home study' unless it means use of self-paced studies. If it eliminates the forced 'socialization', it could be a good thing. I don't know if that is an option in Scotland.
I wish you well but my biggest disappointment has been that every course is not 'self-paced' and that useless 'summer vacation.' Four, week long breaks makes a heck of a lot more sense but that is another story.
Bob Wilson