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@ Fifty - as a former Physics/Science teacher myself you've hit the nail on the head. I used to do something similar (to the kids who actually listened long enough for me to finish a sentence of course )

The system in this country is useless and will remain so not just as long as privatised exam boards have anything to do with it but as long as the government has anything to do with it either.

No government wants to be in power when the pass rate falls, so they make sure it never does (so they cannot be accused of 'failing students') by ensuring the exams get easier every year. I used to teach the A-level physics syllabus using old O-level textbooks (and even then some of the questions were at the tougher end of that required). I once gave a top-set GCSE maths class an old O-level maths exam I found in the bottom of a cupboard. No-body was able to answer a single question

A recent study of science and geography exams showed they had gotten progressively simpler over the last decade, requiring less subject-based skill and more repetition of basic facts. I'm sure examples of these kinds can be multiplied. All I can say is I feel truly sorry for the kids who have been through the system in recent years and horrified for the prospects of my own three sons (the eldest of whom starts full time in September) as to how they will do. I hope only to encourage them to learn on their own or with my wife and I as I despair of the ability of schools to motivate.

My old physics teacher used the same sort of line on me, and as Fifty said, it did make me question everything a lot more, which lead to me THINKING about physics a lot more, which grew into a true love of the subject that still provides me with stimulation and interest to this day.

Myself, well, I get to teach one GCSE lesson a week and no A levels. My entire timetable apart from that is demoralising vocational science courses which seem designed to maximise the number of kids getting "C grade equivalents".

The irish system isn't exactly better- it's a lot more rote learning focused, and could do with the UK focus on skills. It does have a lot of content, and it's generally more broad. Our equivalent of A levels includes 7 subjects rather than three, though they are covered in slightly less detail than a proper A level.

The biggest differences would really be that kid and parents have more respect for teachers and therefore there is less disruption, more support and more progress made per lesson. Kids have the feeling that if they fail it's their issue, not the teacher's (which is not common over here!) and there IS a fail rate which is fairly stable for all subjects, so the qualifications have a bit more worth.
But it's not a perfect system or even a particularly good one. Teachers can be lazy, they lack the sort of focused training you get over here, there isn't really any oversight for them, and holidays are much too long.

I'll agree that there's an issue with the tax, but not with kid's overall intelligence (Overall. Not in Da Boss' area. Those guys are just idiots.).

There's always been idiots and smart kids, and there will continue to be idiots and smart kids forever. My school has a fair share of absolutely lovely children. I am just unlucky in the sets that I teach, most of them are very low. Even in those low sets though, the majority are alright. The stinkers are just pretty well pandered to by management so they get out of hand.

Da Boss wrote:The stinkers are just pretty well pandered to by management so they get out of hand.

Didn't one try to stab you, and not get expelled?

That's not pandering, that's idiocy.

Not stab, nah.
He'd have been expelled for that.

Da Boss wrote:Not stab, nah.
He'd have been expelled for that.

He grabbed you or your shirt, right?

Why not expel him for that!?

Thats why Im not a teacher Boss. If some punk kid grabbed me id just do what my dad did to me when I was 14 and I thought I was a tough guy and pushed him.

He went "woah what the feth is that!?" and pointed at something on my shirt.

Being the young fool that I was, I actually went "huh?" and looked down at where his finger was pointing, and then he headbutted me in the face and laid me out.

I was sobbing on the floor and he walked out chuckling "I cant believe you fell for that you stupid bastard!"

Leigen_Zero wrote:
Judging by my minute knowledge of work ethic over in the states, I'd say the latter is better. It seems most of your companies judge performance based on how long you sit at your desk, rather than what you do when you're at it.

Depends on the job, really. But yeah, there is an often unjustified focus on hours spent working rather than the actual quality of work done.