Education - How would you modify it?

[Ape]

The title is quite generalised, but what I'm asking is rather more specific.

 

 

 

Within the UK, there are several examination boards for every different subject which can be taught. For example, in Wales, there are more than 8 examination boards for A-Level Chemistry (AQA, WJEC, etc...), and each board contains different ways of examining pupils of a specific syllabus, and again, each syllabus varies (the content of what is taught changes).

 

 

 

My girlfriend is doing the AQA course, and I'm doing the WJEC course and with this, I've found her course considerably easier than mine. For instance, she has modular examinations on each topic. Whereas, I have examinations twice per year on all aspects of the syllabus, not a singular topic. Unfair, or what?

 

 

 

In all honesty, I don't know if Universities actually take the board studied into consideration. But their A grade in A Level is alot easier to achieve than an A grade on a WJEC course.

 

 

 

That's something I'd alter - All pupils should study the same syllabus to allow a fair chance of getting into Universities.

 

 

 

Seeeeeeecondly, the A level course for WJEC changed this year. I studied the 'harder', more former syllabus, again... I find this unfair. The year below me has had chunks and several topics of their syllabus cut out, making it a much lighter, less intense course. If I were to drop back a year, I would find the course alot easier. Again, unfair or what?

 

 

 

And to top it all off, I'm leaving at the end of this year and in the summer holidays they're totally rebuilding our common room, to include a pool table, bean bags and a TV. I think you all understand how P'ed off I am. :P

 

 

 

What would you change about your education and how they taught it?

[silver_wits]

the requirements for homework and assignments.

 

 

 

all of the education would be taught at the school. there would be no requirement for homework and assignments. those things will be banned.. and the syalbus would be completed within the year with no overtime required.

 

 

 

I dunno about you people on here.. but.. when the homework I had weighed me down.. I just trashed it.

[assassin_696]

Less emphasis on rote learning, more emphasis on creative thinking (even/especially within scientific subjects) and independent learning. Yes, in every subject the basics have to be taught but beyond that you have to make more time for asking and answering those "but why?" questions. Never, ever, ever stifle a child's inquisitive and imaginative nature.

[silver_wits]

oh.. I had that done to me.. I told off my teacher.... :roll: she was skipping the most important part..

[Da_Latios]

I'd like the students to get at least SOME respect and to have SOME say in things, rather than the fascist-style schooling system we have now.

[megakiller32]

All i'd prefer to do is come in later, and therefore finish a bit later, so you don't have to get up crazily early.

 

 

 

And to Da_latios above me, in many schools (for example mine) the students do get respect, and as a result, the teacher's don't really need a fascist approach. However, for some schools it's impossible to do this because they're full of inconsiderate [wagon]. And some schools are just waaay too big. My school is tiny.

[Zonorhc]

Assessment to formative rather than summative, ie. continuously evaluating students' learning throughout the school year, such as at the end of every unit of study, rather than doing so in a final examination.

 

 

 

That way, difficulties that students might be having can be identified and addressed early on.

[Ape]

Less emphasis on rote learning, more emphasis on creative thinking (even/especially within scientific subjects) and independent learning. Yes, in every subject the basics have to be taught but beyond that you have to make more time for asking and answering those "but why?" questions. Never, ever, ever stifle a child's inquisitive and imaginative nature.

 

 

 

100% agree with you, although Science and Maths are more-or-less 100% fact and imagination can be 'too far' sometimes(as in ridiculously unconsiderable to the matter kind of 'too far' :P)?

 

 

 

And to the post above mine, I find that the older you get, the more respect you are given?

[Laura]

I'd make sure teachers actually discipline their students, rather than be walked over. Of course this doesn't exist in all schools.

 

 

 

Also, as someone already said, make students think on their own. I can't remember any questions that actually made me think as opposed to memorizing key facts to a subject. Sure maybe writing and part of math, but social studies and science had little thought process, at least when I went to highschool, which were three different schools I might add.

[InkofDeath]

More physical punishment of some kind. Whether it's making students pick up garbage for a whole month at lunch and after school, or basically just going back to the ruler. Kids have no respect, nor discipline towards teachers or other authority figures in a school. Disrespecting other students, or using vulgar language should be banned.

 

 

 

Once that is accomplished move onto making everything hands on based, with little bits of reading unless necessary.

 

 

 

English > Instead of reading the books/writing essays, let students act it out, or perform the essay verbally, not just handing it in.

 

 

 

Science > Labs, labs, labs. Let kids know that they can be comfortable with chemicals and equipment. Let them see the reactions with elements or substances.

 

 

 

Gym > lol different sport every week and such

 

 

 

History > Go to museums, or exihibits, let children watch videos regarding history instead of the teacher just talking...then assigning homework. Let the teacher explain, not teach, but explain why they used this or that, and why they made this or that decision.

 

 

 

Just some examples.

[Ginger_Warrior]

The point of high school is to equip us for daily life, not get us set up on the road to university. I feel our education system is far too weighted towards getting half our population into unversity, and all this does is:

 

 

 

a) Make 50% of the population lose out on actually learning basic life skills (maturity, budgeting, applying for jobs etc.)

 

B) Water down the quality of a degree.

 

 

 

I'd do two things. Firstly, I'd scrap "citizenship" and reintroduce PSHE back into the syllabus, with an increased emphasis on creative thinking, independent thought, life skills (first aid, applying for jobs, work experience, budgeting, basic health awareness, that sorta thing) and emotional intelligence. If we're gonna be piling half our young people straight into university at the age of 18, let's at least give them the skills they miss out on by not living off a wage for a couple of years beforehand.

 

 

 

Secondly, I'd totally reform FE colleges. They're a joke as they currently stand, effectively a continuation of high school but quite getting teenagers ready for university life. My Dad had to phone me into my college as sick, even though legally he has no right to know my medical history! They need to be tougher, and making exams harder is one part of that. When 20% of the student population are earning the top grade at A Level, something is seriously wrong, especially when so many of them turn up to university unable to write an essay, or cook, or wash-up...

 

 

 

I suppose that comes from personal reflection. My college years were the most miserable of my life. Trying to balance the pressures of getting high grades, homework and coursework with the normal teenage pressures of a social life, anxiety and my own personal hobbies was not pleasent to say the least.

[Ape]

More physical punishment of some kind. Whether it's making students pick up garbage for a whole month at lunch and after school, or basically just going back to the ruler. Kids have no respect, nor discipline towards teachers or other authority figures in a school. Disrespecting other students, or using vulgar language should be banned.

 

 

 

Once that is accomplished move onto making everything hands on based, with little bits of reading unless necessary.

 

 

 

English > Instead of reading the books/writing essays, let students act it out, or perform the essay verbally, not just handing it in.

 

 

 

Science > Labs, labs, labs. Let kids know that they can be comfortable with chemicals and equipment. Let them see the reactions with elements or substances.

 

 

 

Gym > lol different sport every week and such

 

 

 

History > Go to museums, or exihibits, let children watch videos regarding history instead of the teacher just talking...then assigning homework. Let the teacher explain, not teach, but explain why they used this or that, and why they made this or that decision.

 

 

 

Just some examples.

 

 

 

That all sounds nice, but schools aren't actually able to afford that sort of luxury. Our school is one of the richest, as far as public schooling goes and wasting chemicals is severely frowned upon, as they're rather expensive. And where would theoretic intelligence come from if it was all practical?

[RSBDavid]

Right now, America's education style is not very good. I think we should push kids to work harder at an earlier age. I think all American school attenders should learn a foreign language. My German exchange student had to since 5th grade. He choose English. German, French, or Spanish at the least, should be required. We are falling behind in the teaching of English as well. My German exchange student studies less then I do and he has a 132% in English 12, I have a 89% lol.

 

 

 

The people always say "High school prepares you for college." That is complete bs. Well, bs at my high shcool anyways. In 9/10th grade, they should ask you , if you know, what carrer you wish to look into. They should then in 11th/12th grade give you access yo resources for the carrer field you are interested in. They should have a whole class required that touches basic home living on your own and economics. I am a senior at high school, taking a college class in JAVA programming. I still don't feel challenged. I don't think that I will use animal science in my computer software design field I will most likely go into. (My other idea is computer security). I am wasting my time and spending money for no reason. I rather take classes in business, math, and computers.

 

 

 

I also think that schools should use more disiplin against those who distracts others. A simple 30 minute detention doesn't teach much. THey should just do away with out of school suspensions (OSS). All they do is give the kids an extra day off and people skip school just to get OSS. If a kid doesn't want to learn, don't keep him/her in school. That person will drag others down with them in their fight against education.

 

 

 

 

 

In summary, we (America) must learn a foreign language, we must be taught more in depth, high school needs to prepare us for college better, and we need a better punishment system.

 

 

 

I think this was the longest post besides a guide that I have ever made. :twss:

[ThurinEthir]

(I'm mainly talking about my school here, not schools in general.)

 

The requirements to graduate. You only need two years of math, science and history. Though most people end up taking three or four years of those anyway, I think at least math is important enough to warrant a three or four year requirement.

 

I would say less emphasis on writing/English, but with the way society is heading (txt spk ftl), I'll take that back...

 

Less emphasis on facts, more on analyzing and skills. Memorizing when the Treaty of Paris was signed isn't really going to help at all. Knowing how to analyze a historical document could. Some subjects would be an exception of course, math is basically pure fact. (I guess learning concepts and applying them counts as analysis though...)

 

Add even more levels. Though this means more courses/classes, and my school is already spread thin enough, a lot of people consider Curriculum I (The highest for freshmen...) to be way too easy. Allow students to learn the best of their abilities, restricting them because other students are incapable to learn at the same speed (Oh wow, that sounded so cruel...) is not cool.

 

In my opinion, elementary school and middle school are to teach you facts - High school should mainly be focused on preparing you for the rest of your life. Sure, you should still learn calculus and all that, but more important are skills that will help you in day-to-day life.

[RSBDavid]

NO HOMEWORK!

 

 

 

[bleep], I come to school (a place I dont wanna be), sit around for 7 hours and then get told it wasnt long enough and I have to do it at home? screw that

 

 

 

Maybe homework that requires thinking rather then copy-from-book type answers. Take psycology and Economics =p.

[Lenticular_J]

Taking away the stupid tests and the curriculum the teachers have to cover. We spend a day skimming over a lesson in each class, get some homework, and prepare for state testing. I'M TIRED OF THAT [cabbage]. If we want to cover something else, let us. I'm tired of that. It isn't education. Education is learning the ideas of the past, and finding new ideas to pass onto the future. The past 30 years have been cultural stagnation. We need to preserve the past, but press on willingly into the strangeness of the future.

 

 

 

AND I WANT MORE VARIETY WITH MY GOSH-DAMNED CUSS WORDS

[Laura]

Right now, America's education style is not very good. I think we should push kids to work harder at an earlier age. I think all American school attenders should learn a foreign language. My German exchange student had to since 5th grade. He choose English. German, French, or Spanish at the least, should be required. We are falling behind in the teaching of English as well. My German exchange student studies less then I do and he has a 132% in English 12, I have a 89% lol.

 

Most colleges require two years of foreign language. Some even require three. Want to work as a nurse or doctor? A lot of hospitals are only accepting employees who understand basic Spanish. Grades aren't a reflection of "smartness" but rather of effort.

[Lenticular_J]

You have to have two years of foreign language in Texas to even graduate high school.

 

 

 

Or is it one...

[l0l0lpur32]

Stop the closing of the gap between the grades awarded the top students and the grades awarded to the bottom students.

 

Scrap university tuition fees - although I suppose the money to send 50% of all students I think it is? to university has to come from somewhere.

 

Make school be more about preparing people for life rather than to pass exams.

[Ginger_Warrior]

Right now, America's education style is not very good. I think we should push kids to work harder at an earlier age.

 

I think all youngsters should experience a good month or two of solid work combined during their high school years. Currently, we only do ten days. Some people don't enjoy academic education, and will be more successful by working their way up than by going to get A Levels.

 

 

 

Make youngsters gain some experience working, even if it's just waiting or pot-washing, and it's something to talk about on their CV when applying for jobs later. A big problem with people looking for jobs in this country is a lack of experience on their CV making it impossible to get an interview. The solution to me seems simple: make them receive that experience before leaving secondary education.

[BlueLancer]

Right now, America's education style is not very good. I think we should push kids to work harder at an earlier age.

 

I think all youngsters should experience a good month or two of solid work combined during their high school years. Currently, we only do ten days. Some people don't enjoy academic education, and will be more successful by working their way up than by going to get A Levels.

 

 

 

Make youngsters gain some experience working, even if it's just waiting or pot-washing, and it's something to talk about on their CV when applying for jobs later. A big problem with people looking for jobs in this country is a lack of experience on their CV making it impossible to get an interview. The solution to me seems simple: make them receive that experience before leaving secondary education.

 

 

 

Excellent suggestion, because today's kids who live in an utopia think they can just graduate with straight A's and become an executive.

 

 

 

Guess what: Companies get hundreds of applications for each job they post up, even entry-level. The only way you're going to get priority is by prior work experience, preferably countable in years.. Not your business attire, magna [bleep] laude grades or being the class president in college.

 

 

 

I'm not speaking only from experience.. I'm saying how it works. I interviewed a ton of people for my father's company and the 3 people that got hired all had 1+ year of work experience compared to fresh graduates with zero experience.

 

 

 

Grades don't guarantee a job. If possible at all, try to pick up an internship at a company even if you have to work for free while studying, you'll thank yourself in the future.

[Lenticular_J]

I agree. Learning calculus won't do [cabbage] for you when the only job open is landscaping.

[deloriagod]

I would like to see:

 

 

 

-Less out-of-school group projects. I've had a decent number of these projects and I understand the idea behind them (socialization) but I think they're unfair to students with more time on their hands. I currently have very little free time so my group gets to pick up my share of the work since I don't have time to do it. That's unfair to them but if they don't do it we all lose points. I'd rather see the projects be done in school or individually.

 

 

 

-Less homework consisting of merely copying answers from a book. For my American government class we have a section of reading and discussion questions to do every night. I don't mind it one bit because we can't completely copy the answers from the book since our questions often ask for opinions and such.

 

 

 

-More teachers who actually care about their jobs. Most of my teachers will go over the material in a normal/boring manner, give us homework, and leave it at that. But, in one class I have a student teacher and he's made the class amazing so far. He's always enthusiastic about the days topic, encourages us to throw out our opinions whenever we feel like it, and just makes the class fun (again, it's my government class which would normally be incredibly boring).

[RSBDavid]

 

 

 

 

 

-Less homework consisting of merely copying answers from a book. For my American government class we have a section of reading and discussion questions to do every night. I don't mind it one bit because we can't completely copy the answers from the book since our questions often ask for opinions and such.

 

 

 

 

I 100% agree. I think instead of simple copy-out-of-book work, we should research a topic then write maybe an essay. That would improve our language arts skills at the same time. :thumbsup:

[Skull]

 

 

 

 

 

-Less homework consisting of merely copying answers from a book. For my American government class we have a section of reading and discussion questions to do every night. I don't mind it one bit because we can't completely copy the answers from the book since our questions often ask for opinions and such.

 

 

 

 

I 100% agree. I think instead of simple copy-out-of-book work, we should research a topic then write maybe an essay. That would improve our language arts skills at the same time. :thumbsup:

 

I agree as well. I'd far rather write an essay than do 50 problems from a book that are designed simply to pound information into my head. The essay gives me a chance to think, the problems most likely do not. That's one of my biggest issues with mathmatics particurarly. If I can do the first problem with no problem, what makes you think that the next 49 problems that are exactly the same but with different numbers are going to help me at all.